Relaxation of a System of Particles with Coulomb Interactions
- 15 July 1957
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review B
- Vol. 107 (2), 350-353
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrev.107.350
Abstract
The relaxation to a Maxwellian distribution of a system of particles interacting through inverse-square-law forces is investigated in the approximation of two-particle interactions resulting in small-angle deflections of particle trajectories. The time required for the relaxation of the distribution in the neighborhood of the average energy is found to agree with the self-collision time defined by Spitzer. The time required for the distribution to become Maxwellian throughout the range from zero energy to several times the average energy is found to be nearly ten times the self-collision time. Filling of the high-energy portion of the Maxwell distribution is also discussed.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Dynamics of Ionized MediaPhysical Review B, 1956
- The Electrical Conductivity of an Ionized GasPhysical Review B, 1950
- The Electron Velocity Distribution in Gaseous Nebulae and Stellar Envelopes.The Astrophysical Journal, 1947