Temperature dependence of collision frequencies in gas and plasma systems: a two-dimensional simulation study

Abstract

A two-dimensional simulation was employed to investigate the influence of gas temperature on the collision frequency for both particle–wall and particle–particle collisions. The study examined the collision frequencies within the common temperature range of 0–100 °C. The results demonstrated that the particle–wall collision frequency was proportional to \(\sqrt T\), whereas the particle–particle collision frequency was proportional to \(1/\sqrt T\), where T represents the gas temperature. The particle–wall collision frequency exhibited higher values and less random dispersion around the fitted function compared to the particle–particle collision frequency. A significant deviation from the fitted function \(1/\sqrt T\) was observed at low particle densities. These findings validate the key predictions of kinetic theory and provide deeper insights into the molecular collision dynamics relevant to gaseous and plasma systems, particularly in scenarios involving temperature-dependent interactions.