Space-resolved average kinetic energy of ion swarms in a uniform electric field

Abstract

A pulse of noninteracting charged particles in an unbounded gas, exposed to a low, constant, homogeneous electric field, was studied in both space and time using a Monte Carlo simulation technique. The difference in electrical potential between the leading and trailing edges of the swarm results in the space-resolved average ion kinetic energy becoming a linearly increasing function of space. This Letter analyzes whether the average ion kinetic energy at the leading edge reaches a stationary value during the spatiotemporal evolution of the swarm, as has been considered so far. When the swarm's mean kinetic energy reaches a steady-state value, indicating that an energy balance is established over time, the gains (from the field) and losses (due to collisions) are nonuniform across space. The local power balance is negative at the front of the swarm and positive at the tail. Cooling the ions at the front and heating the ions at the tail results in a decrease in the average ion kinetic energy at the front and an increase at the tail. Thus, it can be concluded that stationary values of average ion kinetic energy do not exist at the leading and trailing edges during the evolution. Instead, they tend to approach the swarm's mean kinetic energy as $t\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$.