Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Jun 1977
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1977apjs...34..259s&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, vol. 34, June 1977, p. 259-294.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
18
Electron Energy, Equations Of State, Free Electrons, Hydrogen, Kinetic Equations, Astronomical Models, Collision Parameters, Elastic Scattering, Electron Scattering, Equilibrium Equations, Gas Ionization, Hydrogen Plasma, Inelastic Collisions, Maxwell-Boltzmann Density Function, Steady State
Scientific paper
The problem of calculating the steady-state free-electron energy distribution in a hydrogen gas is considered in order to study departures of that distribution from a Maxwellian at sufficiently low degrees of ionization. A model kinetic equation is formulated and solved analytically for the one-particle electron distribution function in a steady-state partially ionized hydrogen gas, and it is shown that the formal solution can be accurately approximated by using the WKB method. The solutions obtained indicate that the high-energy tail of the distribution is susceptible to distortion by imbalanced inelastic collisions for ionization fractions not exceeding about 0.1 and that such departures from a Maxwellian can lead to significant changes in the collisional excitation and ionization rates of ground-state hydrogen atoms. Expressions for the electron-hydrogen collision rates are derived which explicitly display their dependence on the hydrogen departure coefficients. The results are applied in order to compare self-consistent predictions with those based on the a priori assumption of a Maxwellian distribution for models of the thermal ionization equilibrium of hydrogen in the optically thin limit, spectral-line formation by a gas consisting of two-level atoms, and radiative transfer in finite slabs by a gas of four-level hydrogen atoms.
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