Theory of light-induced drift. I. Flat-plate geometry

Abstract

Light-induced drift (LID) of a rarefied gas in a cell with flat-plate geometry is studied in the limits of large length and width of the cell, and exact solutions to the model rate equations are obtained, with exact analytical solutions for the case of surface LID (SLID); the special case of the limit of low radiation absorption by the gas in SLID is given particular attention. Many results are different from those of previous work. Emphasis is placed on considerations of comparison with experiment.