Relaxation of temperature and chemical composition in nonideal plasmas

Abstract

Rate equations for the coupled evolution of density and temperature in nonideal partially ionized plasmas are presented. The equations are derived from generalized quantum kinetic equations that include many-particle effects, such as screening, self-energy and lowering of the binding energy. The equations are solved for a three-component plasma. The influence of many-body effects on the density–temperature relaxation is demonstrated. © 1995, American Institute of Physics. All rights reserved.