On stability of collisional coupling between relativistic electrons and ions in hot plasmas

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how relativistic effects influence the stability of electron-ion collisional coupling in hot plasmas, revealing that relativistic effects extend the temperature range for stable coupling and prevent decoupling at very high temperatures.

Contribution

It provides a new understanding of the stability boundaries of collisional coupling in relativistic hot plasmas, highlighting the impact of relativistic effects on plasma behavior.

Findings

Relativistic effects extend the stable T_e/T_i boundary.

Stable coupling persists up to T_e, T_i > 75 keV.

Relativistic effects prevent decoupling at high temperatures.

Abstract

The collisional coupling of relativistic electrons and non-relativistic ions in hot plasmas has been analysed. It is found that relativistic effects produce a new feature: while the condition T_e<3T_i guarantees a stable collisional coupling between electrons and ions in low-temperature plasmas, relativistic effects shift the upper T_e/T_i boundary of stability to higher values. Moreover, for sufficiently high temperatures, T_{e,i} > 75 keV, collisional decoupling between relativistic electrons and ions becomes impossible.