Propagation and spontaneous branching of discharge channels (streamers)

Spontaneous branching of anode-directed streamers between planar electrodes,
M. Arrayás, U. Ebert, W. Hundsdorfer, Physical Review Letters 88, 174502 (2002) [online April 16, 2002], paper.

covered by science update in Nature on April 10, 2002: Lightning forks illuminated,

covered by Physical Review Focus of the American Physical Society on April 16, 2002: Sparks branch like coral reefs.

I am also aware of reports in the Volkskrant, KNMI (nieuwsoverzicht, 17 april 2002), kennislink, Nieuw Archief voor de Wiskunde, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Natuurkunde, energie techniek en Discover Magazine (New York): Corals and Sparks, NWO-jaarboek 2002, FOM-jaarboek 2002.

• Streamer Propagation as a Pattern Formation Problem: Planar Fronts
  U. Ebert, W. van Saarloos, and C. Caroli, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4178 - 4181 (1996), paper.
  
• Propagation and Structure of Planar Streamer Fronts
  U. Ebert, W. van Saarloos, and C. Caroli, Phys. Rev. E 55, 1530 - 1549 (1997), paper.
  
• Pattern Formation in Electric Discharges
  U. Ebert and M. Arrayás, p. 270 - 282 in: Coherent Structures in Complex Systems,
  eds.: D. Reguera et al., Lecture Notes in Physics 567 (Springer, Berlin 2001), preprint
  
• Spontaneous branching of anode-directed streamers between planar electrodes,
  M. Arrayás, U. Ebert, W. Hundsdorfer, Physical Review Letters 88, 174502 (2002), paper.
  
• A mechanism for streamer branching
  U. Ebert, A. Rocco, W. Hundsdorfer, and M. Arrayás, [2 pages for ref. proceedings ESCAMPIG 16, Grenoble, July 2002], preprint.
  
• Branching of negative streamers in free flight
  A. Rocco, U. Ebert, and W. Hundsdorfer, Phys. Rev. E 66, 035102(R) (2002), paper.
• Reply by U. Ebert and W. Hundsdorfer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 229402 (2002)
  on Comment by A.A. Kulikovsky, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 229401 (2002)
  on M. Arrayás, U. Ebert, W. Hundsdorfer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 174502 (2002).
  
• Streamer Branching rationalized by Conformal Mapping Techniques,
  B. Meulenbroek, A. Rocco, and U. Ebert, Phys. Rev. E 69, 067402 (2004) [4 pages], paper.
  
• Stability of negative ionization fronts: regularization by electric screening?,
  M. Arrayas and U. Ebert, Phys. Rev. E 69, 036214 (2004), paper.
  
• Kosmische Zündfunken?,
  M. Füllekrug, U. Ebert, Physik Journal 3 (2004) No. 2, p. 17-18, draft.
  
• Experiments on propagating and branching positive streamers in air,
  T.M.P. Briels, E.M. van Veldhuizen, U. Ebert, paper [4 pages],
  proceedings of XVth Int. Conf. on Gas Discharges and Appl., Toulouse, France, Sept. 2004.
  
• Numerical solutions and conformal analysis of growing and branching negative discharge streamers,
  C. Montijn, B. Meulenbroek, U. Ebert and W. Hundsdorfer, preprint,
  IEEE Trans. Plasma Science [2 pages, to appear] (2005).
  
• Branching of positive discharge streamers in air at varying pressures,
  T.M.P. Briels, E.M. van Veldhuizen and U. Ebert, preprint, IEEE Trans. Plasma Science [2 pages, to appear] (2005).
  

Our other articles about pattern formation in discharges for a general public:

• CWI FACT SHEET on pattern formation in discharges,
  
• shorter version of the same in ERCIM News 44, 56 - 57 (2001),
  
• Summary of the PRL for Phys Rev Focus by Ebert (March 25),
• Press information by CWI (in Dutch, April 12),
• Pattern forming systems: universal and specific, U. Ebert, "Research Highlight" in the Annual Report 2001 of CWI, p. 27 - 33.
• In ERCIM News 50 (2002): title page and page 53: A Simple Model for Spark Branching by U. Ebert.

Related experimental observations:

• Corona discharges for plasma reactors at TU Eindhoven, see, e.g.,
  Branching of streamer type corona discharge, E.M. van Veldhuizen, W.R. Rutgers, and U. Ebert, [4 pages for ref. proceedings XIV Int. Conf. Gas Discharges and Appl., 2002] preprint,
  Positive and negative pulsed corona in argon, E.M. van Veldhuizen, W.R. Rutgers, and U. Ebert, [5 pages for ref. proceedings Hakone 8, 2002] preprint.
• Sprite discharges above thunder clouds,
  first observation of the temporal evolution: V. Pasko et al., Electrical discharge from a thundercloud top to the lower ionisphere, Nature 416, 152 - 154 (March 14, 2002).

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