Upper limits on production rate of NO per ion pair

The maximum production rate of NO per ion pair during a solar proton event has been calculated using an approach described by Porter et al. (1976). For altitudes between 80 and 120 km the calculation yields a limit of 2.68 NO per ion pair for 10 keV electrons, a value which is consistent with the rates implied by the measurements of Arnold (1978) as quoted by Fabian et al. (1979). For altitudes below 80 km the maximum rate of NO production is calculated to be 1.46 to 1.53 NO per ion pair.