Density Fluctuations in a Magnetized, Weakly Ionized Plasma

Kinetic equations are obtained for the phase space cross-correlation functions in a magnetized, weakly ionized plasma. The equations are solved by using the BGK model to represent the collisions with neutrals and an expression is obtained for the electron density cross-correlation function. The expressions obtained are valid for stationary, homogeneous, weakly ionized plasmas in a uniform magnetic field. The expression obtained for the spectral density generalizes the result of Dougherty and Farley to nonequilibrium situations. For the special case of long times and large probe separations, the expression obtained for the cross-correlation function reduces to the diffusion dominated result obtained by Ichimaru. In this limit numerical results are obtained for various collision frequencies and magnetic field strengths.