MODELS OF AURORAL IONIZATION: PART I. AURORAL IONIZATION MODELS AND THEIR RADIO-REFLECTION CHARACTERISTICS

Although radio observations of aurora contain information about the nature of the reflecting ionization, the use of dissimilar models of auroral ionization has led different workers to widely differing conclusions. In this paper several general models of auroral ionization are developed. By considering the ionization as an assembly of individual scatterers, it has been possible to include a unified treatment of both weak scattering and critical reflection. This treatment should provide a basis for resolving some of the difficulties in the interpretation of auroral radio observations. In a second paper the available experimental evidence is examined in the light of this theoretical treatment.