Electron distribution function in a strong electric field

Summary form only given, as follows. A spherical pinch experiment is discussed in which a central spark is produced between two electrodes, carrying a current of the order of 100 kA under a voltage difference of the order of 10 kV. In order to obtain the X-ray spectra from plasmas, it is necessary to know in detail the spectrum of electrons in the presence of a strong electric field. The velocity spectrum of electrons results from the competing effects between the acceleration by the electric field and the deceleration by collisions. Coulomb interactions and binary short-range collisions are taken into account in the present work. Starting from one-dimensional time-independent Boltzmann Fokker-Planck equation, a spatially uniform plasma subjected to an electric field is considered. With an appropriate change of variables this equation is transformed into the confluent hypergeometric equation. The electron distribution function is then calculated in closed form together with the density current.