Recent advances in the application of Boltzmann equation and fluid equation methods to charged particle transport in non-equilibrium plasmas

The kinetic theory of charged particles in gases has come a long way in the last 60 years or so, but many of the advances have yet to find their way into contemporary studies of low-temperature plasmas. This review explores the way in which this gap might be bridged, and focuses in particular on the analytic framework and numerical techniques for the solution of Boltzmann's equation for both electrons and ions, as well as on the development of fluid models and semi-empirical formulae. Both hydrodynamic and non-hydrodynamic regimes are considered and transport properties are calculated in various configurations of dc and ac electric and magnetic fields. We discuss in particular the duality in transport coefficients arising from non-conservative collisions (attachment, ionization). © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.SCOPUS: re.j