Charged-particle transport in gases in electric and magnetic fields crossed at arbitrary angles: Multiterm solution of Boltzmann’s equation

Abstract

A multiterm solution of the Boltzmann equation has been developed and used to calculate transport coefficients of charged-particle swarms in gases under the influence of electric and magnetic fields crossed at arbitrary angles psi. The hierarchy resulting from a spherical harmonic decomposition of the Boltzmann equation in the hydrodynamic regime [Ness, Phys. Rev. A 47, 327 (1993)] is solved numerically by representing the speed dependence of the phase-space distribution function in terms of an expansion in Sonine polynomials about a weighted sum of Maxwellian distributions at different temperatures. Results are given for charged-particle swarms in certain model gases over a range of psi and field strengths. The variation of the transport coefficients with psi is addressed using physical arguments. The errors associated with the two-term approximation and inadequacies of Legendre polynomial expansions are highlighted.