Observation of Radio-Wave-Induced Red Hydroxyl Emission at Low Altitude in the Ionosphere

L. M. Kagan, M. J. Nicolls, M. C. Kelley, H. C. Carlson, V. V. Belikovich, N. V. Bakhmet’eva, G. P. Komrakov, T. S. Trondsen, and E. Donovan
Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 095004 – Published 11 March 2005

Abstract

We report the discovery of radio-wave-induced red emission of OH Meinel rotation-vibrational bands at 629.79 nm. These are the first measurements of artificial aurora below 100 km. We believe that the 629.79-nm OH emission was due to radio-wave focusing by sporadic ionization clouds near 80–85 km altitude, thus giving a technique to visualize the low-altitude sporadic ionization and providing insight into ionospheric interactions at these low altitudes.

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  • Received 17 November 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.095004

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

L. M. Kagan

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada

M. J. Nicolls and M. C. Kelley

  • School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rhodes Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

H. C. Carlson

  • Air Force Research Laboratory, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22203-1977, USA

V. V. Belikovich, N. V. Bakhmet’eva, and G. P. Komrakov

  • Radiophysical Research Institute, Nizhniy Novgorod 603095, Russia

T. S. Trondsen and E. Donovan

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada

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Vol. 94, Iss. 9 — 11 March 2005

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