Drift of a rarefied gas in a planar channel under the action of monochromatic radiation

A theoretical study is performed of light-induced drift of a rarefied gas in a planar channel. The problem is solved using linearized kinetic equations for a two-level particle model in the weak field approximation. Analytical expressions are obtained for the drift, averaged over channel section in almost free-molecular (Kn 1) and viscous with slippage (Kn 1) flow regimes. Various mechanisms for this drift are analyzed. Numerical estimates of drift velocity are presented.Translated from Inzhenerno-fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 60, No. 6, pp. 1015–1021, June, 1991.