Abstract
A new technique has recently been developed to solve the time-dependent electron Boltzmann equation in higher order accuracy. This technique is based on a multi-term approximation of the electron velocity distribution function expansion in Legendre polynomials. Using this new approach the temporal relaxation of the electrons in weakly ionized helium, xenon and molecular nitrogen plasmas, acted upon by a time-independent electric field, has been studied in various approximation orders. One important result is that the converged solution of the electron Boltzmann equation is generally obtained during the entire relaxation course in an approximation with six to eight terms of the velocity distribution expansion. Further findings are that the simplified treatment obtained by using the conventional two-term approximation can lead to a noticeable falsification of the converged relaxation behaviour and that this falsification sensitively depends on the specific atomic data, particularly on the magnitude of the collision cross sections for the various electron - gas particle collision processes involved.
Published Version
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