Density Inhomogeneities and Electron Mobility in Supercritical Xenon

Richard A. Holroyd, Kengo Itoh, and Masaru Nishikawa

J. Chem. Phys. 118, 706-710 (2003) [Find paper at Scitation]

Abstract:

The low-field mobility of electrons in supercritical Xe has been measured isothermally as a function of density above the critical temperature (289.7 K). At 293 K the mobility varies from a high of 890 cm2/Vs at 9.2 x 1021 atoms/cm3 to a minimum value of 4.6 cm2/Vs at a density of 3.5 x 1021 atoms/cm3, which is just below the critical density. The density dependence of the mobility is reasonably well predicted by the deformation potential model if the adiabatic compressibility is used to characterize the electron-medium interactions. Approximate agreement indicates that electrons are quasi-free in supercritical xenon.