Transport coefficients of a relativistic plasma.

Abstract

In this work, a self-consistent transport theory for a relativistic plasma is developed. Using the notation of Braginskii [S. I. Braginskii, in Reviews of Plasma Physics, edited by M. A. Leontovich (Consultants Bureau, New York, 1965), Vol. 1, p. 174], we provide semianalytical forms of the electrical resistivity, thermoelectric, and thermal conductivity tensors for a Lorentzian plasma in a magnetic field. This treatment is then generalized to plasmas with arbitrary atomic number by numerically solving the linearized Boltzmann equation. The corresponding transport coefficients are fitted by rational functions in order to make them suitable for use in radiation-hydrodynamic simulations and transport calculations. Within the confines of linear transport theory and on the assumption that the plasma is optically thin, our results are valid for temperatures up to a few MeV. By contrast, classical transport theory begins to incur significant errors above k_{B}T∼10 keV, e.g., the parallel thermal conductivity is suppressed by 15% at k_{B}T=20 keV due to relativistic effects.