Abstract
Ions in a cylindrical, low-pressure gas discharge move in a combination of axial and radial fields. Their motion is predominantly in the radial direction and this motion affects the shape of ion emission lines observed along the discharge-tube axis. Calculations are presented here that show in detail how the ion motion affects these line shapes for a Tonks-Langmuir radial potential with ion mean free paths of various values relative to the tube radius. These calculations predict both values for the axial ion drift velocity and asymmetrical longitudinally emitted line shapes. The predictions of the theory compare well with experimental observations made on argon-ion-laser discharges.
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