title: Diffusion cooling in a magnetic field
abstract: Diffusion cooling of electrons in a weakly ionized plasma in the presence of a magnetic field is studied using the balance equations of momentum transfer theory, well known in "swarm" or test particle analysis. It is shown that for a cylindrical, axially symmetric system, the electron temperature profile can be "hollow" (i.e., T(e)<T(i)) and the radial ambipolar electric field can reverse to point inwards under certain conditions, reminiscent of observations in plasmas in toroidal devices at much higher temperatures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Theoretical Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Robson