Collisional-radiative recombination in cold plasmas

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1975 · Phys. Rev., A, v. 12, no. 4, pp. 1246-1251

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.12.1246· OSTI ID:4184019

Stevefelt, J; Boulmer, J; Delpech, J

We have investigated the electron-ion three-body collisional-radiative recombination for electron temperatures below 4000 degreeK using the Mansbach- Keck rates of electron-impact-induced transitions between hydrogenic energy levels of high principal quantum number. At such temperatures and for a wide range of electron densities, the statistical recombination process is simultaneously governed by collisional and by radiative transitions between excited levels near the ionization limit, where atomic and molecular systems possess a hydrogenic energy-level structure. In order also to take into account radiative transitions, we have numerically solved a system of coupled equations, describing the quasi-steady-state populations of 100 bound levels. These equations are expressed in, and solved for, the first differences between the reduced population densities rho (p), which improves the computing precision and establishes the location of the ''bottleneck'' in the recombination sequence. Our results are consistent with the following approximation for the collisional- radiative recombination rate coefficient (in cm$sup 3$ sec$sup -1$): $alpha$)=1.55times10$sup -10$$T$$sup -0$$.$$sup 63$ +6.0times10$sup -9$$T$$sup -2$$.$$sup 18$$e$$sup 0$$.$$sup 37$ +3.8times10$sup -9$$T$$sup -4$$.$$sup 5$e, where the electron temperature T is in degreeK and the electron density e is in cm$sup -3$; the first and last terms describe purely radiative and collisional recombination, respectively, and the second term results from the complex interplay of collisional and radiative processes. Agreement with experimental data is reasonable.

• Research Organization: Groupe d'Electronique dans les Gaz, Institut d'Electronique Fondamentale, Bat. 220, Universite Paris-XI, Centre d'Orsay--91405 Orsay, France
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• NSA Number: NSA-33-002762
• OSTI ID: 4184019
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev., A, v. 12, no. 4, pp. 1246-1251, Journal Name: Phys. Rev., A, v. 12, no. 4, pp. 1246-1251; ISSN PLRAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

*COLD PLASMA-- RECOMBINATION
700103* --Fusion Energy--Plasma Research--Plasma Kinetics-- General
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ELECTRON-ION COLLISIONS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
HYDROGEN
N70300* --Physics--Controlled Thermonuclear Research-- Kinetics (General)