2-D simulations of striations in direct current glow discharges in argon

Two-dimensional simulations of self-excited, moving striations are carried out in a direct current glow argon discharge at low pressures. High-current (several 100s of mA) conditions are considered where striations exist due to nonlinear dependence of the ionization rate on electron density. The developed computational model enabled us to simulate for the first time large amplitude, nonlinear ionization waves observed in experiments.