Solution of the one-dimensional linear Boltzmann equation for charged Maxwellian particles in an external field

The one-dimensional linear homogeneous Boltzmann equation is solved for a binary mixture of quasi-Maxwellian particles in the presence of a time-dependent external field. It is assumed that the charged particles move in a bath of neutral scatterers. The neutral scatterers are in thermal equilibrium and the concentration of the charged particles is low enough to neglect collisions between them. Two cases are considered in detail, the constant and the periodic external field. The quantities calculated are the equilibrium and the stationary distribution function, respectively, from which any desired property can be derived. The solution of the Boltzmann equation for Maxwellian particles can be reduced to the solution of the so-called cold gas equation by employing the one-dimensional variant of a convolution theorem due to Wannier. The two limiting cases, the Lorentz gas (m/sub A/ → 0) and the Rayleigh gas (m/sub a/ → ∞) are treated explicitly. Furthermore, by computing the central moments, the deviations from the Gaussian approximation are discussed, and in particular the large-velocity tails are evaluated