MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF METASTABLE
COMPONENTS IN THE IONOSPHERE OF THE EARTH

S. A. Ishanov and V. V. Medvedev

UDC 622.276

A formulation (different from those adopted earlier) of 
the problem of numerical modeling of the altitude-time behavior of 
vibrationally excited molecular nitrogen has been presented. A conservative 
and absolutely stable difference scheme for the continuity equation 
with allowance for convective transfer has been proposed. The results 
of numerical calculations of the altitude-time behavior of different 
ionospheric parameters obtained on a mathematical model of ionospheric-plasmaspheric 
interactions have been given. The important role of vibrationally 
excited molecular nitrogen for such conditions has been noted. The 
times of establishment of the disturbed to background values of the 
concentrations of the excited components and the electrons and their 
temperatures have been determined.

I. Kant Russian State University, 14 Nevskii Str., Kaliningrad 
(Region), 236041, Russia. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, 
Vol. 78, No. 6, pp. 26-33, November-December, 2005. Original 
article submitted April 4, 2003; revision submitted November 9, 2004.