Critical Current of the Ionization Waves and Anomaly of the Positive Column in an Axial Magnetic Field

Influences of an axial magnetic field on the ionization wave and the positive column in rare gas discharges are studied experimentally. The upper critical current I_c for the appearance of ionization waves in the magnetic field B is newly found. As B is gradually increased, the value of I_e slightly increases from the Pupp's value and after passing a prominent maximum, finally become very small. In addition an anomaly takes place in the axial electric field E of the positive column stable for helical instabilities. With increasing the magnetic field the value of E goes through a weak maximum before decreasing. It is concluded that this anomaly, apparently incompatible with classical diffusion theory, is closely related to the appearance of ionization waves in the positive column.