Discharges in Gases

Electro-Hydrodynamics of Micro-Discharges in Gases at Atmospheric Pressure

Modeling Dusty Plasma Discharges of Noble Gases Using a Self-Consistent Fluid Model

Complex plasmas, which consist of electrons, ions and charged micro-particles, are an interesting and largely unexplored state of matter. One of the most intriguing phenomena in complex plasmas is the formation of dust-free voids in micro-gravity experiments. In order to achieve an isotropic dusty plasma system, this void must be closed. Using a self-consistent fluid model to simulate plasma be...

Density jump in helicon discharges

Helicon discharges characteristically exhibit a sharp jump from low to high density as the radiofrequency (RF) power is raised. This is usually explained by the transition from an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mode to a helicon mode when the dispersion relation for helicon wave propagation is satisfied at a critical power or magnetic field. Experiments have suggested a different mechanism fo...

Ion runaway in lightning discharges.

Runaway ions can be produced in plasmas with large electric fields, where the accelerating electric force is augmented by the low mean ionic charge due to the imbalance between the number of electrons and ions. Here we derive an expression for the high-energy tail of the ion distribution function in lightning discharges and investigate the energy range that the ions can reach. We also estimate ...

Nonlinear Diffusion in Magnetized Discharges

In high-density gas discharges in which the electrons, but not the ions, are confined by a magnetic field, the radial density profile is often observed to have a triangular shape, as if the ionization were concentrated on axis. However, such profiles can also result from nonlinear diffusion, in which the diffusion coefficient varies inversely with density.