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Collisional excitation of electron Landau levels in strong magnetic fields

Collisional excitation of electron Landau levels in strong magnetic fields The cross sections for excitation and deexcitation of the quantized transverse energy levels of an electron in a magnetic field are calculated for electron-proton and electron-electron collisions. Both the electron and proton are treated as free point charges moving at arbitrary velocities. These cross sections are of particular interest in studies of magnetic neutron stars where a magnetic field of 10 11 - 10 13 gauss and temperatures in excess of 10 8 K are expected. The cross sections are calculated for arbitrary initial and final states; however, the discussion emphasizes excitations of ground-state electrons (the dominant process in accreting neutron stars). Our results for electronproton excitations show that proton recoil, which was neglected in previous calculations, and relativistic corrections may both be important. We also present the first calculation of the cross section for electron-electron excitations, and show that this process may contribute 10-20% of the excitation rate from electron-proton scattering in a Maxwellian plasma. Finally, we calculate the cross section for electron-proton small-angle scattering. The resulting relaxation rates for the electron velocity distribution are modified by the magnetic field and the value of the Coulomb logarithm may be significantly increased due to the quantization of the transverse energy levels of the proton. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Physical Review D American Physical Society (APS)

Collisional excitation of electron Landau levels in strong magnetic fields

Physical Review D , Volume 23 (2) – Jan 15, 1981
19 pages

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Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Copyright
Copyright © 1981 The American Physical Society
ISSN
1089-4918
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevD.23.328
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The cross sections for excitation and deexcitation of the quantized transverse energy levels of an electron in a magnetic field are calculated for electron-proton and electron-electron collisions. Both the electron and proton are treated as free point charges moving at arbitrary velocities. These cross sections are of particular interest in studies of magnetic neutron stars where a magnetic field of 10 11 - 10 13 gauss and temperatures in excess of 10 8 K are expected. The cross sections are calculated for arbitrary initial and final states; however, the discussion emphasizes excitations of ground-state electrons (the dominant process in accreting neutron stars). Our results for electronproton excitations show that proton recoil, which was neglected in previous calculations, and relativistic corrections may both be important. We also present the first calculation of the cross section for electron-electron excitations, and show that this process may contribute 10-20% of the excitation rate from electron-proton scattering in a Maxwellian plasma. Finally, we calculate the cross section for electron-proton small-angle scattering. The resulting relaxation rates for the electron velocity distribution are modified by the magnetic field and the value of the Coulomb logarithm may be significantly increased due to the quantization of the transverse energy levels of the proton.

Journal

Physical Review DAmerican Physical Society (APS)

Published: Jan 15, 1981

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