NATURE OF ELECTRON-FLUID-DYNAMICAL WAVES

A one-dimensional, inviscid, multifluid model is employed to describe a constant velocity, steady-profile, ionizing electron-fluid-dynamical wave propagating into a pure atomic gas subjected to an applied electric field E 0. It is demonstrated that the electron-fluid equations can be decoupled from the remaining equations allowing description of the wave in terms of electron variables only. Wave speed and resultant degree of ionization are derived as functions of applied field and initial gas pressure. Certain limiting conditions governing the existence of such steady-profile waves and comparison with the experimental work on breakdown waves are also presented.