Plasma characteristics in the gap at lowered pressure in the presence of primary electrons are analyzed for the hydrodynamic model in the cold ion approximation. It is demonstrated that at a certain critical ionization level, the plasma state changes abruptly. The potential drop in the plasma can be not only more, but also less than ln(2)kTe/e, and hence the velocity of ions exiting from the plasma can be more or less than the Bohm velocity. For low ionization intensity and formation of the plasma with a high fraction of primary electrons, the velocity of secondary electron exiting from the plasma becomes equal to their thermal velocity, and their distribution differs significantly from the Boltzmann distribution.
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Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 38–42, March, 2018.
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Nikulin, S.P. Characteristics of the Plasma Generated by Primary Electrons at Lowered Pressure. Russ Phys J 61, 439–444 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11182-018-1418-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11182-018-1418-2