Reduction of the Coulomb logarithm due to electron-neutral collisions.

Khrapak, Sergey A · Phys Rev E · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The frictional force (stopping power) acting on a test electron moving through an ideal electron gas is calculated by taking into account electron-neutral atom collisions using the linear plasma response formalism. This allows us to elucidate how the effective Coulomb logarithm is affected by electron-neutral collisions. In agreement with a recent investigation by Hagelaar, Donko, and Dyatko [Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 025004 (2019)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.123.025004], we observe that the effective Coulomb logarithm decreases considerably due to electron-neutral collisions and becomes inversely proportional to the collision frequency in the highly collisional limit.