Investigation of the plasma bullets generated by low temperature plasma jets

It has recently been reported by several investigators that low temperature plasma jets are not continuous plasma plumes but in fact are made of small plasma packets/bullets traveling at high velocities . This is a rather interesting phenomenon especially in the case when the plasma jet is launched in a region where there is no externally applied electric field. ICCD images show that as it moves forward, the jet is indeed a small confined volume of plasma that is disconnected from the electrodes. The bullet travels for a certain distance and eventually the plasma quenches, ending the propagation process. In this paper, along with experimental results we propose a preliminary model that describes the bullet characteristics and its propagation dynamics. The model is based on a streamer approach with photoionization playing an important role in providing the seed electrons in front of the streamer head. Comparison between experimental results and the simulations will be presented and discussed.