This work was carried out in a frame of the study of the discharge propagation in noble gases in focused beams of the terahertz frequency range radiation. A 40 kW at 670 GHz pulsed gyrotron was used as a source of heating radiation. The propagation velocity of the discharge front in various noble gases (argon, krypton, and a helium–argon mixture) was measured over a wide pressure range (from several atmospheres to several Torr, depending on the type of gas). It is shown that the discharge propagation velocity decreases with increasing gas pressure. Moreover, the velocity decreases with an increase in the atomic mass of the gas from several units of 107 cm/s in the case of a helium–argon mixture to 106–105 cm/s (depending on pressure) in the case of krypton over the entire pressure range. Measurements of the discharge propagation velocity were carried out in several ways: from instant snapshots from the high-speed camera and images of the discharge from a streak-camera. The mechanisms responsible for the propagation of the discharge are currently the subject of further research.

中文翻译：

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由 0.67 THz 回旋管的强大辐射维持的惰性气体中的气体放电动力学

这项工作是在研究太赫兹频率范围辐射的聚焦光束中惰性气体中的放电传播的框架内进行的。使用 670 GHz 的 40 kW 脉冲回旋管作为热辐射源。放电前沿在各种惰性气体（氩、氪和氦-氩混合物）中的传播速度在很宽的压力范围内（从几个大气压到几个 Torr，取决于气体类型）进行测量。结果表明，放电传播速度随着气压的增加而降低。此外，速度随着气体原子质量的增加而降低，从氦-氩混合物情况下的几个单位 107 cm/s 到氪情况下的 106-105 cm/s（取决于压力）超过整个压力范围。放电传播速度的测量以多种方式进行：从高速相机的即时快照和条纹相机的放电图像。负责放电传播的机制目前是进一步研究的主题。