Source-term models based on the Boltzmann collision integral for hydrogen-isotope ion-atom collisions in fluid simulations

In divertor plasmas, ion–atom collisions critically influence plasma transport and heat flux to divertor targets. Fluid neutral models are widely used in divertor simulations due to their low computational cost and favorable convergence properties. However, source terms representing ion–atom collisions often differ across codes because of variations in the cross section data and in the physical approaches used to model collisions between hydrogen isotope ions and atoms of identical nuclei. This study systematically evaluates these differences and establishes more consistent modeling approaches based on the Boltzmann collision integral (BCI). Using the BCI, we investigate particle transport in velocity space and assess the effect of scattering angles and differential cross sections (DCSs). Several analytical expressions—rarely used in divertor studies—are reviewed. For energy transfer, we derive a new BCI-based expression and validate the analytical expressions by comparing with the direct BCI evaluation. It is also pointed out that the commonly used charge–exchange (CX) cross section data no longer reflect recent experimental and theoretical developments. For deuteron-deuterium atom collisions at T = 10 eV, the CX-based model overestimates the friction force by more than 30% compared with the BCI-based model. For energy transfer between deuterons at T = 20 eV and deuterium atoms at T = 10 eV, the CX-based model overestimates the transferred energy by approximately 25%. The use of DCSs and the analytical expressions introduced in this study is therefore recommended. Implementing them in place of the conventional CX-based model may modify the predicted plasma profiles and the assessment of the detached divertor.