This chapter discusses the statics and dynamics of particle ensemble evolution under multiple stimuli—electrical, magnetic and thermal, particularly (thermoelectromagnetic interaction)—by developing the evolution of the distribution function in a generalized form from its thermal equilibrium form. In the presence of electrical and magnetic fields, this shows the Hall effect, magnetoresistance, et cetera. Add thermal gradients, and one can elaborate additional consequences that can be calculated in terms of momentum relaxation times and the nature of impulse interaction, since momentum and energies carried by the ensemble are accounted for. So, parameters such as thermal conductivity due to the carriers can be determined, thermoelectric, thermomagnetic and thermoelectromagnetic interactions can be quantified and the Ettinghausen effect, the Nernst effect, the Righi-Leduc effect, the Ettinghausen-Nernst effect, the Seebeck effect, the Peltier effect and the Thompson coefficient understood. The dynamics also makes it possible to determine the frequency dependence of the phenomena.
Measurement of hot electron momentum relaxation times in metals by femtosecond ellipsometry