Collision frequency of charged particles in a weekly ionized gas in a strong magnetic field

Abstract

The frequency of collision of a charged particle (electron or ion) with neutral particles in a strong magnetic field is rigorously calculated on the assumptions that both the charged and the neutral particles are composed of smooth elastic spheres on which no attraction operates at a distance, and that they have Maxwellian velocity distributions. The physics of the collision between a charged and a neutral particle is obtained by tracing the trajectory of the particle in the magnetic field. First the expression of the relative velocity of a charged particle to a neutral particle in a magnetic field is obtained, and after that, the equation of the collision frequency is derived. The collision frequency of the charged particles in the presence of the magnetic field is found to be smaller than that in the absence of the magnetic field.