Collisional excitation of electron Landau levels in strong magnetic fields

The cross sections for the excitation and deexcitation of the quantized transverse energy levels of an electron in a magnetic field are calculated for electron-proton and electron-electron collisions in light of the importance of the cross sections for studies of X-ray pulsar emission. First-order matrix elements are calculated using the Dirac theory of the electron, thus taking into account relativistic effects, which are believed to be important in accreting neutron stars. Results for the collisional excitation of ground state electrons by protons are presented which demonstrate the importance of proton recoil and relativistic effects, and it is shown that electron-electron excitations may contribute 10 to 20% of the excitation rate from electron-proton scattering in a Maxwellian plasma. Finally, calculations of the cross section for electron-proton small-angle scattering are presented which lead to relaxation rates for the electron velocity distribution which are modified by the magnetic field, and to a possible increase in the value of the Coulomb logarithm.