Electron thermalization in a recombining plasma

Electron temperatures different from neutral and ion temperatures can persist for appreciable periods in a low-density plasma decaying by dissociative recombination. Such temperature differences can be initially due to the process generating the plasma. The energy dependence of the recombination cross section can also result in an elevation of the electron temperature during the recombination process. The time dependence of the electron temperature and recombination rate is calculated for a variety of experimental conditions. Corrections to the observed recombination rate for these effects are important only if the dimensionless parameter C = (16/3)(2m/sub e/kT/sub A//π)1/2 (n/sub A/ sigma/sub MT//m/sub A/ n/sub e/0 α/sub R//sup A/) is less than unity. (T/sub A/, n/sub A/, and m/subA/ are the neutral particle temperature, number density, and mass, respectively; n/sube/0 and m/sube/ the electron initial number density and mass; sigma/sub MT/ the electron-neutral momentum-transfer cross section; and α/subR//supA/ the electron-ion dissociative recombination rate constant at T/sub e/ = T/sub A/.) (U.S.)