Development of Auroral Radiative Transfer Models

拟议研究的主要目标是发展对航天器和火箭测量的极光紫外线共振线辐射的捕获和辐射传输进行模拟的能力。由于极光辐射随水平位置的变化很大，这就需要开发一个二维辐射传输程序来模拟极紫外共振线光子在明显非平面平行条件下的传输。该辐射传输程序将利用矩阵方法，通过傅立叶变换求解二维问题。为了为辐射传输计划提供输入，我们还需要具有可变能量网格的极光电子传输代码来处理极光中发现的高能电子。在成功开发和测试这些程序之后，它们将被应用于各种实验的数据(例如，海盗号紫外线成像仪、STP78-1极光光谱仪和夜面极光火箭数据)。这些结果将在局部和全球尺度上提供有关沉淀电子的能量和通量的有价值的信息。此外，这些计划将变得足够普遍，以适用于发生在其他行星大气层中的极光，如木星。首席研究人员在辐射输运领域以前的研究中有良好的记录，这项努力成功的可能性很高。

The primary objective of the proposed research is to develop the capability to model the trapping and radiative transport of auroral ultraviolet resonance line emissions measured by spacecraft and rockets. Since auroral emissions vary strongly with horizontal position, this requires the development of a two- dimensional radiative transfer code to model the transport of EUV resonance line photons under distinctly non-plane-parallel conditions. This radiative transfer program will utilize a matrix-method solution, with the two-dimensional problems by using Fourier transforms. To provide input for the radiative transfer program, we also require auroral electron transport codes with variable energy grids to handel the high energy electrons found in auroras. After the successful development and testing of these programs, they will be applied to data from a variety of experiments (e.g., the Viking UV Imager, the STP78-1 EUV spectrometer, and nightside auroral rocket data). The results will provide valuable information about the energy and flux of the precipitating electrons, on both local and global scales. In addition, the programs will be made general enough to apply to auroras occurring in the atmospheres of other planets, such as Jupiter. The principal investigator has a sound record of previous research in the field of radiative transport, and the probability of success of this endeavor is high.