Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2009
The previously obtained analytical solution to the Boltzmann equation for nonhomogeneous plasmas with relative large temperature and density gradients is generalized in the following sense. (i) The relatively simple Bhatnagar, Gross and Krook collision operator is replaced by the Fokker-Planck operator expressed in terms of relaxation rates (slowing down, energy exchange, etc.). (ii) The simple Lorentzian plasma model is replaced by a multi-component plasma model with realistic masses and temperatures.