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Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry
Published on: August 1, 2017
Particle-photon radiative interactions and thermalization
Chiara Pezzotti1, Massimiliano Giona1
1Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, Materiali, Ambiente La Sapienza Università di Roma, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
We analyze the statistical properties of radiative transitions for a molecular system possessing discrete, equally spaced, energy levels, interacting with thermal radiation at constant temperature. A radiative fluctuation-dissipation theorem is derived and the particle velocity distribution analyzed. It is shown analytically that, neglecting molecular collisions, the velocity distribution function cannot be Gaussian, as the equilibrium value for the kurtosis κ is different from κ=3. A Maxwellian velocity distribution can be recovered in the limit of small radiative friction.
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