On the existence of a steady electron distribution for systems with electron attachment: Ar-CCl4 mixtures

The relaxation of a nonequilibrium distribution of electrons in a mixture of Ar and CCl4 is studied. In a previous paper [J. Phys. B 34 (1991) 2909], Shizgal demonstrated that with the neglect of vibrationally inelastic collisions, a nonequilibrium steady electron distribution does occur even with the loss of electrons. The rate of disappearance of electrons due to attachment is rapid for high concentrations of CCl4. In this Letter, we extend the previous analysis to include inelastic collisions and find that for CCl4 and Ar mixtures there is no steady electron distribution function with increasing molecular gas concentrations.