Cosmic ray ionization and Jesse effect behavior in electrode systems with nanostructures

TL;DR

This study investigates how nanostructures like ZnO and carbon influence cosmic ray ionization in gases, revealing a significant increase in electrical conductivity due to ionization frequency enhancement, driven by field gradient effects.

Contribution

It demonstrates that one-dimensional nanostructures significantly increase cosmic ray ionization effects through field gradient effects, not field enhancement.

Findings

Electrical conductivity increased by 4-5 orders of magnitude with nanostructures.

Ionization frequency was enhanced by 10^8 to 10^10 times.

Field gradient effects, not field enhancement, drive the observed phenomena.

Abstract

Gaseous electronic characteristics due to cosmic ray ionization in the electrode systems with ZnO and carbon nanostructures have been examined in atmospheric Ar/N2 and O2/N2 mixtures. The electric conductivity at the quasi linear stage is measured at the level of 10-11~10-10 S/m, 4~5 orders of magnitudes higher than that of the samples without nanostructures, which is construed by the 108~1010 times increment of the cosmic ray ionization frequency. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the role of one-dimensional nanostructures in this gaseous electronic phenomenon is based on the intensive field gradient effect, rather than the field enhancement effect.