The Electronic Kinetics of Molecular Nitrogen and Molecular Oxygen in the Earth’s Middle Atmosphere during the GLE Events of Solar Cycle 23

Based on models of the electronic kinetics of triplet and singlet states of molecular nitrogen and singlet states of molecular oxygen for the Earth’s middle atmosphere, we calculated the intensity profiles of the bands of the first and second positive N 2 systems, the Lyman–Birge–Hopfield N 2 bands, and the infrared O 2 bands in the case of precipitation of high-energy protons during the GLE65, GLE67, GLE69, and GLE70 events of solar cycle 23. Calculations have shown that almost over the entire interval of altitudes of 20–80 km, there is a significant contribution from the processes of quenching some electronically excited states of N 2 and O 2 during molecular collisions. The kinetics of O 2 singlet states at the altitudes of the middle atmosphere during proton precipitation is considered taking into account both direct excitation by high-energy particles and intermolecular processes of electron excitation transfer.