Initial Recombination of Ions

Abstract

The probability that a pair of ions of given initial separation will recombine with each other is computed from the laws of Brownian motion, which is the proper procedure whenever the Langevin factor equals unity, as in gases at high pressures. In the absence of forces other than the Coulomb attraction, the probability of escape equals the reciprocal of the Boltzmann factor. This result includes the correlation between temperature and pressure coefficients of the ionization by light particles previously predicted by Compton, Bennett and Stearns, if one allows their basic hypothesis about the laws which govern the initial separation of the ions. The effect of an electric field is to increase the fraction of escaping ions by a factor which in the incipient stage of the effect is proportional to the field intensity and independent of the initial distance, although it depends on the orientation of an ion pair. The predicted increase of the ionization current is a little more than one percent for every 100 volts/cm, which accounts for the observed effects of fields exceeding 1500 volts/cm. A reasonable amount of columnar recombination would help to explain the proportionately greater effects of weak fields. The inferred initial separations of the ions are apparently compatible with present knowledge of electron scattering and attachment.