Role of Ambipolar Diffusion in the Development of Equatorial Anomaly in Solar Maximum & Minimum Periods

Abstract

The continuity equation for the electron density distribution in the equatorial F2 region is solved numerically by employing the already available models for the vertical drift and for the neutral winds. The theoretical calculations were made for the solar minimum and maximum conditions, with the same electric field and neutral wind models. The differences in the diurnal development of the anomaly such as the crest-to-trough ratio and the time of its development in the solar maximum and minimum periods are explained by the differences in the ambipolar diffusion rates in the two epochs.