Scattering of a particle beam by a non-equilibrium plasma

A model for treating the interaction between a hot, dense plasma and a charged particle beam including the effects of departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium is applied to the scattering of the beam. Expressions for the angular spread and the deflection of a test-particle beam are derived, and calculations for protons and α's on a gold plasma are presented. It is found that a temperature gradient can cause significant deflection of the beam. (author)