The Gaunt factor is a dimensionless quantity that arises in the field of astrophysics and plasma physics, particularly in the context of radiative transfer and the calculation of opacity in stellar atmospheres and hot plasmas. It quantifies the effect of electron scattering on the intensity of radiation in a medium.
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The Gaunt factor is the dimensionless quantum correction to a classical free-free radiation calculation. Its weak temperature and frequency dependence modifies the approximate thermal bremsstrahlung scaling; a frequency-averaged value appears in the bolometric cooling coefficient.