Self-consistent mechanism for sustaining ionization waves in a low-pressure discharge

The possibility of constructing a self-consistent model for the sustaining of ionization waves is demonstrated for a low-pressure discharge in an inert gas. The model is based on the combined solution of the kinetic equation of the electrons and the equation of motion of the ions in a spatially periodic field. The distribution function is constructed in an experimentally measured field and then used to calculate the spatial distributions of the plasma density and the ionization rate. The solution of the equation of motion of the ions makes it possible to reconstruct a field similar to the original one. One specific feature of the mechanism considered is the pronounced nonlocal character of the formation of the electron distribution function by the entire nonuniform potential profile of the ionization wave. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 24–30 (February 1997)