Collisions (plasmapy.formulary.collisions)

The collisions subpackage contains commonly used collisional formulae from plasma science.

Sub-Packages & Modules

coulomb

Functionality for calculating Coulomb parameters for different configurations.

dimensionless

Module of dimensionless parameters related to collisions.

frequencies

Frequency parameters related to collisions.

helio

The helio subpackage contains functionality for heliospheric plasma science, including the solar wind.

lengths

Module of length parameters related to collisions.

misc

Module of miscellaneous parameters related to collisions.

Classes

MaxwellianCollisionFrequencies(...)

Compute collision frequencies between two slowly flowing Maxwellian populations.

SingleParticleCollisionFrequencies(...)

Compute collision frequencies between test particles (labeled 'a') and field particles (labeled 'b').

Inheritance diagram of plasmapy.formulary.collisions.frequencies.MaxwellianCollisionFrequencies, plasmapy.formulary.collisions.frequencies.SingleParticleCollisionFrequencies

Functions

collision_frequency(T, n, species[, z_mean, ...])

Collision frequency of particles in a plasma.

Coulomb_cross_section(impact_param)

Cross-section for a large angle Coulomb collision.

Coulomb_logarithm(T, n_e, species[, z_mean, ...])

Compute the Coulomb logarithm.

coupling_parameter(T, n_e, species[, ...])

Ratio of the Coulomb energy to the kinetic (usually thermal) energy.

fundamental_electron_collision_freq(T_e, ...)

Average momentum relaxation rate for a slowly flowing Maxwellian distribution of electrons.

fundamental_ion_collision_freq(T_i, n_i, ion)

Average momentum relaxation rate for a slowly flowing Maxwellian distribution of ions.

impact_parameter(T, n_e, species[, z_mean, ...])

Impact parameters for classical and quantum Coulomb collision.

impact_parameter_perp(T, species[, V])

Distance of the closest approach for a 90° Coulomb collision.

Knudsen_number(characteristic_length, T, ...)

Knudsen number (dimensionless).

mean_free_path(T, n_e, species[, z_mean, V, ...])

Collisional mean free path (m).

mobility(T, n_e, species[, z_mean, V, method])

Return the electrical mobility.

Spitzer_resistivity(T, n, species[, z_mean, ...])

Spitzer resistivity of a plasma.

temp_ratio(*, r_0, r_n, n_1, n_2, v_1, T_1, T_2)

Calculate the thermalization ratio for a plasma in transit, taken from Maruca et al. [2013] and Johnson et al. [2023].

Examples