Revision of the Coulomb logarithm in the ideal plasma
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, D-64289 Darmstadt (Germany)
- ILE: Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada Kami, Osaka (Japan)
The standard picture of the Coulomb logarithm in the ideal plasma is controversial, the arguments for the lower cut off need revision. The two cases of far subthermal and of far superthermal electron drift motions are accessible to a rigorous analytical treatment. We show that the lower cut off b{sub min} is a function of symmetry and shape of the shielding cloud, it is not universal. In the subthermal case, shielding is spherical and b{sub min} is to be identified with the de Broglie wavelength; at superthermal drift the shielding cloud exhibits cylindrical (axial) symmetry and b{sub min} is the classical parameter of perpendicular deflection. In both situations, the cut offs are determined by the electron-ion encounters at large collision parameters. This is in net contrast to the governing standard interpretation that attributes b{sub min} to the Coulomb singularity at vanishing collision parameters b and, consequently, assigns it universal validity. The origin of the contradictions in the traditional picture is analyzed.
- OSTI ID:
- 22253331
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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