Kinetic approach for the ion drag force in a collisional plasma

Abstract

The linear kinetic approach to calculate the ion drag force in a collisional plasma is generalized. The model collision integral (for ion-neutral collisions) is discussed and employed to calculate the plasma response for arbitrary velocity of the plasma flow and arbitrary frequency of the collisions. The derived plasma response is used to calculate the self-consistent force on the test charged particle. The obtained results are compared to those of the traditional pair collision approach, and the importance of the self-consistent kinetic consideration is highlighted. In conclusion, the applicability of the proposed approach is discussed. © 2005 The American Physical Society.