Effects of electron angle scattering in plasma waves

Abstract

The collisional contribution to the fluctuating number and current density are calculated from the linearized electron kinetic equation with a Lorentz collision operator. In the weakly collisional regimes of practical importance for low frequency drift, sound, and Alfvén waves, the dominant dissipative contribution is shown to arise from the low energy electrons that contribute a damping proportional to (ωνe/k2v2e)3/5.