# Modification of classical electron transport due to collisions between electrons and fast ions

## TL;DR

This paper develops a Fokker-Planck model to analyze how collisions between electrons and fast ions significantly alter classical electron transport properties in plasmas, especially under anisotropic fast ion flux conditions.

## Contribution

It introduces a new transport model incorporating electron-fast ion collisions, revealing their impact on current and heat flow in plasma scenarios.

## Key findings

- Fast ion collisions cause significant electron distribution perturbations.
- New transport equations include a current term from electron-fast ion collisions.
- Implications for plasma heating scenarios like ICF and ion beam heating.

## Abstract

A Fokker-Planck model for the interaction of fast ions with the thermal electrons in a quasi-neutral plasma is developed. When the fast ion population has a net flux (i.e. the distribution of the fast ions is anisotropic in velocity space) the electron distribution function is significantly perturbed from Maxwellian by collisions with the fast ions, even if the fast ion density is orders of magnitude smaller than the electron density. The Fokker-Planck model is used to derive classical electron transport equations (a generalized Ohm's law and a heat flow equation) that include the effects of the electron-fast ion collisions. It is found that these collisions result in a current term in the transport equations which can be significant even when total current is zero. The new transport equations are analyzed in the context of a number of scenarios including $\alpha$ particle heating in ICF and MIF plasmas and ion beam heating of dense plasmas.