The role of resonance radiation in the propagation of a positive pre-breakdown ionization wave in long discharge tubes

Abstract

The work is devoted to calculating the flux of resonance photons towards the boundary of a cylindrical discharge tube of a finite size during the propagation of a pre-breakdown ionization wave of positive polarity. A cylindrical discharge tube of finite dimensions with argon at the pressure of p = 1 Torr is considered. The propagation mechanisms of metastable and resonance atoms are compared. For the considered discharge conditions, the space-time distributions of metastable and resonance atoms are calculated. The manuscript presents a technique for calculating the flux of resonance photons onto the discharge tube wall with the account of the radiation trapping. It is shown that for the studied conditions the photon flux density towards the longitudinal boundary of the tube ahead of the ionization wave can reach 1013 cm−2 s−1. The obtained results allow us to describe the appearance of seed electrons ahead of the positive ionization wavefront during their propagation due to the electron photoemission from the discharge tube wall.