Avalanche-to-streamer transition in particle simulations

Abstract—The avalanche-to-streamer transition is studied and illustrated in a particle model. The results are similar to those of fluid models. However, when superparticles are introduced, numerical artifacts become visible. This underscores the need of models that are hybrid in space. Index Terms—Particle simulation, streamers. S TREAMERS are growing filaments of weakly ionizednonstationary plasma produced by a sharp ionization front that propagates into nonionized matter. Streamers are used in industrial applications such as lighting [1], ozone generation, and gas and water purification, and they occur in natural processes such as lightning and transient luminous events in the upper atmosphere [2]. Streamers can emerge from ionization avalanches in free space when the self-induced field becomes comparable to the applied field; this was recently reinvestigated in the framework of a fluid model in [3]. Reference [4] dis