scholarly journals Velocity Distribution Functions and Transport Coefficients of Electron Swarms in Gases in the Presence of Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields

1995 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
KF Ness

A multi-term solution of the Boltzmann equation is used to calculate the spatially homogeneous velocity distribution function of a dilute swarm of electrons moving through a background of denser neutral molecules in the presence of crossed electric and magnetic fields. As an example, electron motion in methane is considered.

2010 ◽  
Vol 108-111 ◽  
pp. 783-788
Author(s):  
Jian Jun Wu ◽  
Li Hong He

The lift-off velocity distribution of saltating particles, which have been proposed to characterize the dislodgement state of saltating particles, is one of the key issues in the theoretical study of windblown sand transportation. But there were various statistical relations in the early researches. In this paper, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for goodness-of-fit is adopted to make an inference of the most probable form of lift-off velocity distribution functions for saltating particles on the basis of the experimental data. The statistical results show that the distribution function of vertical lift-off velocities conforms better to Weibull distribution function than to the normal, log-normal, gamma and exponential ones; while, the distribution function of the absolute values of horizontal lift-off velocities is best described by log-normal distribution in forward direction and Weibull distribution in backward direction, respectively. Finally, two more examples prove to support the above conclusions.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Boyle

Abstract The single-granule velocity distribution function is shown to be Maxwell-Boltzmann for hard-sphere granular flows at steady-state exhibiting no gradients and absent a body-force. This is accomplished by approximating the two-granule velocity distribution function as the product of two single-granule velocity distribution functions and a correlating function and by applying to a canonical ensemble a function analogous to Boltzmann’s H-function.


1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Shrauner ◽  
W. C. Feldman

The sensitivity of electromagnetic ion-cyclotron wave growth rates to the details of the shape of proton velocity distribution functions is explored. For this purpose two different forms of bi-Lorentzian for the proton distribution functions were adopted. The growth rates for the two types of bi-Lorentzians and the biMaxwellians for the beam (hot) protons are compared. Although the growth rates for the three shapes depend on the velocity moments of the different velocity distributions in a similar way, their magnitudes were found to vary considerably.


1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Hubert ◽  
F. Leblanc

Abstract. New characteristics of O+ ion velocity distribution functions in a background of atomic oxygen neutrals subjected to intense external electromagnetic forces are presented. The one dimensional (1-D) distribution function along the magnetic field displays a core-halo shape which can be accurately fitted by a two Maxwellian model. The Maxwellian shape of the 1-D distribution function around a polar angle of 21 ± 1° from the magnetic field direction is confirmed, taking into account the accuracy of the Monte Carlo simulations. For the first time, the transition of the O+ 1-D distribution function from a core halo shape along the magnetic field direction to the well-known toroidal shape at large polar angles, through the Maxwellian shape at polar angle of 21 ± 1° is properly explained from a generic functional of the velocity moments at order 2 and 4.


Entropy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Nicolaou ◽  
George Livadiotis ◽  
Robert T. Wicks

The velocities of space plasma particles, often follow kappa distribution functions. The kappa index, which labels and governs these distributions, is an important parameter in understanding the plasma dynamics. Space science missions often carry plasma instruments on board which observe the plasma particles and construct their velocity distribution functions. A proper analysis of the velocity distribution functions derives the plasma bulk parameters, such as the plasma density, speed, temperature, and kappa index. Commonly, the plasma bulk density, velocity, and temperature are determined from the velocity moments of the observed distribution function. Interestingly, recent studies demonstrated the calculation of the kappa index from the speed (kinetic energy) moments of the distribution function. Such a novel calculation could be very useful in future analyses and applications. This study examines the accuracy of the specific method using synthetic plasma proton observations by a typical electrostatic analyzer. We analyze the modeled observations in order to derive the plasma bulk parameters, which we compare with the parameters we used to model the observations in the first place. Through this comparison, we quantify the systematic and statistical errors in the derived moments, and we discuss their possible sources.


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