quantum_theta
- plasmapy.formulary.quantum.quantum_theta(T: Unit('K'), n_e: Unit('1 / m3'))[source]
Compare Fermi energy to thermal kinetic energy to check if quantum effects are important.
The quantum theta (\(θ\)) of a plasma is defined by
\[θ = \frac{E_T}{E_F}\]where \(E_T\) is the thermal energy of the plasma and \(E_F\) is the Fermi energy of the plasma.
- Parameters:
Examples
>>> import astropy.units as u >>> quantum_theta(1*u.eV, 1e20*u.m**-3) <Quantity 127290.619...> >>> quantum_theta(1*u.eV, 1e16*u.m**-3) <Quantity 59083071...> >>> quantum_theta(1*u.eV, 1e26*u.m**-3) <Quantity 12.72906...> >>> quantum_theta(1*u.K, 1e26*u.m**-3) <Quantity 0.00109...>
- Returns:
theta
- Return type:
Notes
The thermal energy of the plasma (\(E_T\)) is defined by
\[E_T = k_B T\]where \(k_B\) is the Boltzmann constant and \(T\) is the temperature of the plasma.
See also