Transport theory in self-similar variables for neutrals atoms in an edge plasma
✍ Scribed by P. Helander; S. I. Krasheninnikov
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 234 KB
- Volume
- 36
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0005-8025
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
A family of analytical solutions to the Botzmann equation is found describing neutral atoms penetrating into a hot plasma whilst undergoing charge-exchange, ionization, and recombination. It is shown that if the neutral mean-free path divided by the scale length of ion temperature variation is constant, it is possible to introduce self-similar variables in the kinetic equation. Since the mean-free path increases with increasing energy, a one-sided, high-energy tail arises in the neutral distribution. This tail may contribute significantly to the heat and particle fluxes, which are nonlocal in character. When this is the case, the fluid approximation of these quantities breaks down at arbitrarily short mean-free paths.