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Theoretical study of a plasma column sustained by an electromagnetic surface wave in the dipolar mode

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

E. Benova
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Institute for Foreign Students, BG-1111 Sofia, Bulgaria
I. Ghanashev
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physics, Sofia University, BG-1126 Sofia, Bulgaria
I. Zhelyazkov
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physics, Sofia University, BG-1126 Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical model of a plasma column sustained by an electromagnetic surface wave in the dipolar (m =1) mode for two different gas-discharge regimes: free-fall/diffusion and recombination respectively. The dispersion characteristics of the wave and the axial profiles of the plasma density, wave power, wavenumber and wave-field components for a given regime are specified by one numerical parameter σ = ωR/C, where ω is the angular wave frequency, R the plasma radius and c the speed of light, irrespective of the gas nature and pressure. It is established that there exists a ‘critical’ value of this parameter, σcr = 0·3726, below which a plasma is not likely to be sustained. A comparison between the axial structures of plasma columns sustained by electromagnetic waves in the dipolar and azimuthally symmetric modes is made. The model is in agreement with the available experimental results.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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References

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