TIME-DEPENDENT ELECTRON KINETICS IN N2 AND H2 FOR A WIDE-RANGE OF THE FIELD FREQUENCY INCLUDING ELECTRON-VIBRATION SUPERELASTIC COLLISIONS

Electron-energy distribution functions (EEDF), electron-transport parameters, and rate coefficients have been calculated by solving the time-dependent Boltzmann equation in weakly ionized plasmas in N2 and H-2, for a wide range of the field frequency going from omega << nu(e) up to omega >> nu(m)e, where nu(e) and nu(m)e are two characteristic relaxation frequencies for energy and momentum transfer, respectively. The effects produced by the electron-vibration superelastic collisions have been taken into account in the Boltzmann equation and their influence in the electron transport has been analyzed in detail. Both the temporal behavior and the time-averaged value of the EEDF and of several macroscopic quantities have been obtained and discussed for different values of the field frequency. Among several other aspects, it is shown that the instantaneous power absorbed from the field and the one dissipated in electron collisions are not in phase, although, obviously, they exactly compensate each other on the average.