Kinetics of wet sodium vapor complex plasma

Abstract

In this paper, we have investigated the kinetics of wet (partially condensed) Sodium vapor, which comprises of electrons, ions, neutral atoms, and Sodium droplets (i) in thermal equilibrium and (ii) when irradiated by light. The formulation includes the balance of charge over the droplets, number balance of the plasma constituents, and energy balance of the electrons. In order to evaluate the droplet charge, a phenomenon for de-charging of the droplets, viz., evaporation of positive Sodium ions from the surface has been considered in addition to electron emission and electron/ion accretion. The analysis has been utilized to evaluate the steady state parameters of such complex plasmas (i) in thermal equilibrium and (ii) when irradiated; the results have been graphically illustrated. As a significant outcome irradiated, Sodium droplets are seen to acquire large positive potential, with consequent enhancement in the electron density.