Effect of energy partition in ionizing collisions on the electron-velocity distribution

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In this paper, results are presented from a a study on the effect that energy partition between the two electrons emerging from an ionizing collision has on the velocity distribution of an assembly of electrons, in nitrogen, at E/N values of 300 and 1500 Td. The energy at which the secondary electrons enter the distribution ranged from zero to half the available energy. It has been found that as the energy of the secondary decreases, the populations at low energies and in the high-energy tail increase, with a concomitant decrease in the middle of the distribution, and that the distribution becomes highly anisotropic. This is shown to have significant effects on the transport parameters and rate coefficients for electron-molecule reactions.