Self-similar sharpening structures and traveling resonance fronts in nonlocal HF ionization processes

The spatiotemporal evolution of a high-frequency discharge under strong plasma-resonance conditions is studied theoretically and by computer simulation. We analyze two main dynamic regimes arising at different stages of the process: (i) the “pre-resonance” sharpening regime, described approximately by a self-similar solution with a singularity, and (ii) the regime of high-velocity ionization wave with high peaks of the field, electron temperature, and plasma density at the leading wave-front.