Fluid-model analysis of electron swarms in a space-varying field: nonlocality and resonance phenomena.
The physically based, benchmarked fluid model developed by Robson et al. [R. E. Robson, R. D. White, and Z. Lj. Petrovic, Rev. Mod. Phys. 77, 1303 (2005)] and extended to analyze electron swarms in a spatially homogeneous electric field under conditions corresponding to the Franck-Hertz experiment [P. Nicoletopoulos and R. E. Robson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 124502 (2008)] is generalized to investigate the nonlocal response and resonance phenomena associated with electrons subject to an externally prescribed, spatially varying electrostatic field. Analytic expressions are first derived for the mean velocity, energy, and heat flux of electrons in a harmonically varying field, and expressions are then given for fields with more general spatial dependences. Numerical examples are given for both benchmark model cross sections and a real gas.
Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. pnicolet@skynet.be
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