Analytical study of the influence of electron-electron collisions on the high energy part of the electron energy distribution function

This paper presents an analytical model, which describes the effect of electron-electron collisions on the high energy range of the electron energy distribution function of a surface wave produced plasma. The analytical results are compared to numerical solutions of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation including Coulomb collisions. Particular attention is paid to the progress of the thermalization of the electron distribution function if the degree of ionization increases. Furthermore the simple analytical model presented will be discussed as an alternative to the numerical solution of the Boltzmann equation including the Coulomb collision integrals.