Influence of Ramsauer Effect on Bounded P lasmas in Magnetic Fields

A study of the fluid model for cylindrical, weakly-ionized, quasi-neutral plasmas in an axial magnetic field is presented. The model takes into account ionization, ion and electron inertia, as well as frictional forces for ions and electrons. Two cases for the electron frictional forces are considered: with the Ramsauer effect and without the Ramsauer effect, while the ion frictional force is defined by the charge exchange process. For each case, the behavior of the plasma parameters for arbitrary magnitudes of the magnetic field, gas pressure and plasma size is presented, making the model applicable for a wide range of discharge conditions and gases. A magnetic field parameter is introduced, which specifies a parameter range for the magnetic field, gas pressure and plasma size where the Boltzmann equilibrium with the ambipolar field for the electron distribution is satisfied. A parametric relation for the magnetic field, gas pressure and plasma size is obtained, which separates the region of weak magnetic field effects from the region of strong magnetic field effects. In addition, analytical transformations between the corresponding parameters with and without the Ramsauer effect are obtained.