Nonthermal effects on the electron-atom bremsstrahlung process in generalized Lorentzian plasmas

Abstract

The nonthermal effects on the electron-atom bremsstrahlung process are investigated in generalized Lorentzian plasmas. The screened atomic wave function and energy for the hydrogen atom in Lorentzian plasmas are obtained by the Ritz variational method. The electron-atom bremsstrahlung radiation cross section in Lorentzian plasmas is also obtained as a function of the spectral index and plasma parameters. It is shown that the nonthermal character of the Lorentzian plasma strongly suppresses the electron-atom bremsstrahlung cross section. In addition, it is shown that the nonthermal effect on the bremsstrahlung process decreases with increasing radiation photon energy. It is also shown that the nonthermal effect on the bremsstrahlung cross section is more significant in plasmas with higher densities. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3674997]