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New Probability Distributions in Astrophysics: III. The Truncated Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution
Physics Department, Turin, Italy
- 1 Physics Department, Turin, Italy
International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics·Volume 10 (2020)·Pages 191–202·Published 18 August 2020·DOI10.4236/ijaa.2020.103010
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Abstract
The Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) distribution for velocities in ideal gases is usually defined between zero and infinity. A double truncated MB distribution is here introduced and the probability density function, the distribution function, the average value, the rth moment about the origin, the root-mean-square speed and the variance are evaluated. Two applications are presented: 1) a numerical relationship between root-mean-square speed and temperature, and 2) a modification of the formula for the Jeans escape flux of molecules from an atmosphere.
Keywords05.20.-y Classical Statistical Mechanics05.20.Dd Kinetic Theory
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