Inelastic Processes in a Gas-Discharge Plasma of Inert Gases

Abstract

The excitation rate constants of the lower excited states of inert gas atoms by electron impact in the gas-discharge plasma are determined with taking into account the self-consistent character of this process and the rates of similar processes in the plasma of alkali metals. The rate constants of the stepwise ionization in a uniform gas-discharge plasma of inert gases are determined. They are also determined in a nonunifom plasma if the nonuniformity is a result of the passage of a gas-discharge current. Based on the rates of these processes, the populations of lower excited levels are calculated in the case where the equilibrium in the gas-discharge plasma of inert gases is determined by inelastic collisions of electrons with atoms.