Stationary striations in plasma, created by a short microwave pulse in a waveguide filled with a neutral gas

TL;DR

This paper reports the experimental observation of persistent periodic plasma glow in a waveguide after a short microwave pulse, supported by a theoretical model and simulations explaining the phenomenon.

Contribution

It introduces a new experimental observation of plasma striations caused by microwave pulses and provides a theoretical explanation with numerical simulations.

Findings

Periodic plasma glow persists for tens of nanoseconds.

Theoretical model and simulations support the explanation of the observed phenomenon.

Experimental evidence of plasma striations in a waveguide filled with neutral gas.

Abstract

It was observed experimentally that after crossing a waveguide filled with a neutral gas, a short powerful microwave pulse leaves a periodic glow of plasma along the waveguide, persisting several tens of nanoseconds. A theoretical model is presented which in combination with numerical simulations proposes a possible explanation of this phenomenon.