Non-Maxwellian electron distributions in the D region during artificial heating – Part 1: Model development and electron temperature

Myrvang, Margaretha; Gustavsson, Björn

doi:10.5194/angeo-44-921-2026

Articles | Volume 44, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-921-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-921-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 44, issue 2

Regular paper

|

15 Sep 2026

Regular paper |

| 15 Sep 2026

Non-Maxwellian electron distributions in the D region during artificial heating – Part 1: Model development and electron temperature

Margaretha Myrvang and Björn Gustavsson

Model code and software

mmy002/Non-Maxwellian-distributions-and-cooling-rates-during-HF-ionospheric-heating: Code and data for non-Maxwellian during HF ionospheric heating (Version v1.0.0) M. Myrvang and B. Gustavsson https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22069113

Short summary

This paper investigate how radio wave heating affect the electron distribution in the D region. Radio wave heating can lead to absorption of radio wave energy by electrons, thereby increasing the temperature. Electrons are cooled by inelastic collisions with the neutrals atmosphere, affecting the electron distribution since electrons lose energy by exciting different states in neutrals. Thus, electrons are redistributed to lower energies, which changes the shape of the electron distribution.