Two-dimensional expansion of finite-size barium photoplasma in an electrostatic field

Abstract

Two-dimensional evolution of finite-size barium photoplasma, produced using multistep-resonant ionization is experimentally investigated in an externally applied electrostatic field. Several processes like bulk motion, ambipolar diffusion, Coulomb repulsion, Child–Langmuir flux, bounded diffusion, etc. that contribute to its expansion, have been identified. They are quantified with the help of signals recorded by Faraday cups, electrodes and plates and by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. These processes are superimposed and their relative magnitudes decide the evolution of the photoions. When external field is dominant, a significant fraction of ions reach the cathode with negligible vertical spread and the plasma motion can be considered as one-dimensional. However, when plasma collective effects are dominant, then the different mechanisms become comparable and the photoplasma expands in two dimensions. The spread of photoions at different locations in parallel plate geometry is determined as a function of plasma density and compared with simulation.