The tube character of electron drift in condensed inert gases

Abstract

The behavior of an excess electron in condensed inert gases in an external electric field is considered at densities and temperatures at which the mobility of a slow electron is relatively high. On the basis of experimental data and a model of a pair electron interaction with atoms, an effective potential energy surface is constructed for an excess electron inside a dense inert gas. The region available for a slow electron consists of many intersecting channels that form a Delaunay network located between atoms. A drifting electron, as a quantum object, propagates along these channels (tubes), and electron transition between intersecting potential energy tubes of different directions provides an effective electron scattering. This mechanism of electron drift and scattering differs from that in gases and crystals. Peculiarities of electron drift inside dense inert gases are analyzed within the framework of this mechanism of electron scattering, leading to a moderate change of the electron mobility upon melting.