Discharge in an electromagnetic shock tube with preionization of xenon

Preionization of xenon, which creates a pressure gradient between the discharge chamber of a plasma accelerator and the expansion chamber in an electromagnetic shock tube, does not increase the velocity of the plasma stream front in the expansion chamber, but increases the rate of formation of the luminous body and the yield of optical emission. Reduction of the pressure gradient, irrespective of the increase in gas temperature in the experimental conditions, leads to a reduction of this rate.