PHOTOe: Monte Carlo model for simulating the slowing down of photoelectrons

PHOTOe simulates the slowing down of photoelectrons in a gas with arbitrary amounts of H, He and O atoms, and thermal electrons, making PHOTOe useful for investigating the atmospheres of exoplanets. The multi-score scheme used in this code differs from other Monte Carlo approaches in that it efficiently handles rare collisional channels, as in the case of low-abundance excited atoms that undergo superelastic and inelastic collisions. PHOTOe outputs include production and energy yields, steady-state photoelectron flux, and estimates of the 'relaxation' time required by the photoelectrons to slow down from the injection energy to the cutoff energy. The model can also estimate the pathlength travelled by the photoelectrons while relaxing.