Reduction of the Coulomb logarithm due to electron-neutral collisions


Abstract in English

The frictional force (stopping power) acting on a test electron moving through the ideal electron gas is calculated 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. {bf 123}, 025004 (2019)] 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.

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