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Collisional relaxation of bi-Maxwellian plasma temperatures in magnetized plasmas

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4958813· OSTI ID:22600014
In the literature, collisional processes are customarily discussed within the context of the Boltzmann-Balescu-Lenard-Landau type of collision integral, but such an equation is strictly valid for unmagnetized plasmas. For plasmas immersed in the ambient magnetic field, the foundational equation that describes binary collisions must be generalized to include the effects of magnetic field. The present paper makes use of such an equation in order to describe the collisional relaxation of temperatures under the assumption of bi-Maxwellian velocity distribution function. The formalism derived in the present paper may be useful for studying the effects of binary collisions on the isotropization of temperatures in the solar wind plasma, among possible applications.
OSTI ID:
22600014
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 23; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English