Ionization Waves (Striations) in a Low-Current Plasma Column Revisited

The formation of striations in a low temperature plasma column has been known for more than a century and a considerable number of papers have been devoted to experimental and theoretical studies of these striations. Due to the large variety of regimes and to the complexity of the physics involved, our understanding of these instabilities is still limited. In this presentation we focus on the formation of striations under low current and low pressure conditions, i.e. when stepwise ionization or Coulomb collisions are negligible.