Abstract
The 63-µm emission of atomic oxygen arising from the fine-structure transition (3P1–3P2) in the ground electronic state has been attributed to an important cooling mechanism of the thermosphere1; however, the zenith-emission intensities measured by Grossmann and Offermann2 were much weaker than those expected from the theoretical calculation3 based on local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). This discrepancy was interpreted by them to be due to a lower population temperature of O(3PJ) (J = 0, 1 and 2) rather than LTE. If this is true, the 63-µm emission is a much less important coolant of the thermosphere than has been believed. However, we have found that the formulation adopted by the previous calculation3 is inadequate. Based on an improved formulation we have made a LTE model calculation for O(3PJ) and found that calculated 63-µm zenith intensities would be consistent with those measured.
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Iwagami, N., Ogawa, T. Thermospheric 63-µm, emission of atomic oxygen in local thermodynamic equilibrium. Nature 298, 454–455 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298454a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/298454a0
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