Models of electron temperature in the topside ionosphere for low and medium solar activity conditions

Electron temperature models for the topside ionosphere, which make use of the protonospheric heat flux ΦC , deduced from the experimental electron temperature profiles, are presented for low ( F ¯ 10.7 = 75 units ) as well as medium ( F ¯ 10.7 = 150 units ) solar activity conditions. The parameter ΦC is found to show inverse correlation with electron concentration Ne in the topside ionopshere. This relationship between Ne and ΦC at 400 km is used to obtain ΦC when Ne is known. The value of ΦC can be used to build the electron temperature profile in the topside ionosphere if Te at some lower height is known. The Te value at a lower height, say at 300 km, can be obtained from earlier models based upon empirical Te-Ne relationships. The electron temperature obtained from our present models are compared with the measured temperatures and are found to show reasonable agreement