Effect of Modified Thermal Conductivity on the Temperature Distribution in the Protonosphere

At typical protonospheric electron densities, the electron mean free path is long enough that the coefficient of thermal conductivity is no longer given by Spitzer's expression. The effect on the temperature profile of using the corrected expression for conductivity is investigated. The corrected thermal conduction coefficient is density-dependent and has a more complicated temperature dependence than the coefficient applicable to higher density plasmas. The results indicate that the effect is not negligible even under quiet conditions and at low latitudes.