Invalidity of local thermodynamic equilibrium for electrons in the solar transition region. I - Fokker-Planck results
Abstract
An effective numerical method for solving boundary value problems for the Landau Fokker-Planck equation is developed and applied to calculating the electron velocity distribution function in model solar transition regions. Numerical results illustrating the speed, pitch angle, and spatial dependence of the distribution function are presented. From these it is concluded that the widely invoked assumption that in weakly inhomogeneous collisional plasma the angle-averaged distribution function remains close to local Maxwellian distribution is incorrect. Implications of the breakdown of the local Maxwellian approximation for several outstanding questions related to the solar transition region are discussed.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 1983
- DOI:
- 10.1086/160783
- Bibcode:
- 1983ApJ...266..339S
- Keywords:
-
- Boundary Layer Transition;
- Distribution Functions;
- Electrons;
- Plasmas (Physics);
- Solar Atmosphere;
- Boundary Value Problems;
- Fokker-Planck Equation;
- Mathematical Models;
- Solar Physics