Eikonal scattering cross section for elastic electron–ion collisions in nonideal plasmas

Abstract

Modified eikonal approximation is applied to investigate the elastic electron–ion collisions in nonideal plasmas. An effective pseudopotential model, taking into account the plasma screening and collective effects, is applied to describe the electron–ion interaction potential in a classical nonideal plasma. The semiclassical straight-line trajectory approximation is applied to the motion of the projectile electron in order to investigate the variation of the total elastic scattering cross section as a function of the projectile energy, nonideal plasma parameter, and Debye length. The results show that the scaled total cross section in ideal plasmas described by the Debye–Hückel potential model is found to be greater than that in nonideal plasmas described by the pseudopotential model. It is also found that the scaled cross section is decreased with increasing the nonideal plasma parameter (γ), i.e., the nonideality of plasmas reduces the electron–ion collision cross section.