Recombination coefficient

recombination coefficient

A measure of the specific rate at which oppositely charged ions join to form neutral particles (a measure of ion recombination).

Mathematically, if q is the ionization rate expressed in terms of ion pairs created per unit volume per unit time, n₁ the number of positive small ions per unit volume at time t, and n₂ the number of negative small ions per unit volume at the same instant, then the time rate of change in, for example, positive small-ion density is

if we ignore effects due to Aitken nuclei and large ions. In this expression a is the recombination coefficient for small ions and is of the order of 10⁻⁶ cm³ s⁻¹ at sea level. The recombination coefficient between large and small ions is of the same magnitude; the recombination coefficient for large ions neutralizing large ions is much smaller, of the order of 10⁻⁹ cm³ s⁻¹.
See combination coefficient.

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