Generalized Pearson distributions for charged particles interacting with an electric and/or a magnetic field

Abstract

The linear Boltzmann equation for elastic and/or inelastic scattering is applied to derive the distribution function of a spatially homogeneous system of charged particles spreading in a host medium of two-level atoms and subjected to external electric and/or magnetic fields. We construct a Fokker-Planck approximation to the kinetic equations and derive the most general class of distributions for the given problem by discussing in detail some physically meaningful cases. The equivalence with the transport theory of electrons in a phonon background is also discussed.Comment: 24 pages, version accepted on Physica