Electron transport and propagation of negative streamers in liquid-phase xenon

Abstract

The Monte Carlo method, initially developed for charged particle swarms in neutral dilute gases, is extended and generalized to investigate the transport processes of electrons in liquid-phase noble gases by accounting for the coherent and other liquid scattering effects. Electron transport coefficients, including the electron mobility, diffusion coefficients and ionization coefficient, are calculated as a function of the reduced electric field in liquid-phase xenon. Calculated transport coefficients are then used as an input in the classical fluid model to investigate the dynamics of negative streamers. Using the language of the contemporary kinetic theory of plasma discharges, in the present work among many important points, we investigate how various representations of inelastic energy losses in inelastic scattering events affect the electron transport and the macroscopic streamer properties.