Development of Auroral Radiative Transfer Models

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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.