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Pair production rates in mildly relativistic, magnetized plasmas
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Harding, A. K. Burns, M. L. |
| Copyright Year | 1984 |
| Description | Electron-positron pairs may be produced by either one or two photons in the presence of a strong magnetic field. In magnetized plasmas with temperatures kT approximately sq mc, both of these processes may be important and could be competitive. The rates of one-photon and two-photon pair production by photons with Maxwellian, thermal bremsstrahlung, thermal synchrotron and power law spectra are calculated as a function of temperature or power law index and field strength. This allows a comparison of the two rates and a determination of the conditions under which each process may be a significant source of pairs in astrophysical plasmas. It is found that for photon densities n(gamma) or = 10 to the 25th power/cu cm and magnetic field strengths B or = 10 to the 12th power G, one-photon pair production dominates at kT approximately sq mc for a Maxwellian, at kT approximately 2 sq mc for a thermal bremsstrahlung spectrum, at all temperatures for a thermal synchrotron spectrum, and for power law spectra with indices s approximately 4. |
| File Size | 1335484 |
| Page Count | 44 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19840017366 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t57d7qh7x |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1984-05-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Atomic And Molecular Physics Magnetic Flux Power Spectra Plasma-particle Interactions Bremsstrahlung Positrons Pair Production Electron-positron Pairs Photons Magnetic Fields Synchrotron Radiation Electrons Relativistic Plasmas Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
