Stochastic Models of Hot Planetary and Satellite Coronas: A Hot Oxygen Corona of Mars

摘要

The processes of the kinetics and transport of hot oxygen atoms in the transition (between thermo-sphere and exosphere) region of the upper atmosphere of Mars are studied. The reaction of dissociative recombination of the main ionospheric ion O_2~+ with thermal electrons in the ionosphere of Mars is considered as a source of hot oxygen atoms. The distribution of suprathermal oxygen atoms by kinetic energy is calculated. It is shown that the exosphere is populated by a considerable number of suprathermal oxygen atoms with kinetic energies just below the escape energy of 2 eV; that is, a hot oxygen corona of Mars is formed.