Influence of Elementary Processes on Form of Apokampic Discharge

This is a theoretical study of a new form of high-pressure gas discharge burning as a thin jet of plasma is not limited walls. This discharge is called “apokamp”. A two-dimensional flat model of the discharge is presented when a high-voltage trapezoidal pulse with amplitude of 15 kV and a base duration of $3\ \mu\mathrm{s}$ is applied to the electrodes. Results of modeling the discharge in an oxygen medium at atmospheric pressure with various rates of elementary processes, such as dissociation of oxygen molecules by electron impact and electron attachment, are presented. The inclusion of only four elementary processes in the theoretical model is sufficient for the formation of the apokamp. The spatial distributions of plasma number density and mean electron energy during the growth of the apokampic jet are obtained. Reduction of the electron attachment rate leads to increasing of the jet propagation velocity, and a decrease in the rate of direct dissociation greatly increases the diameter of the apokampic jet.