Advanced Topics

The energy distribution function of the electrons, εεDF, is the solution of the Boltzmann equation in plasmas which are dominated by binary collisions between electrons and neutrals, elastic and inelastic ones. Since it describes the density of the electrons in the six-dimensional phase space of space and momentum, it is an equation of continuity of gain and loss and can be written as f(r, v). Its product f(r, v) dr dv equals the number N of electrons within the volume element d³ r d³ v. Integration over momentum yields the electron density n _e at point r: