Electron-Atom Interaction and Optogalvanic Dynamics in a Hollow Cathode Discharge Plasma Around 659.9nm

Our study focuses on the rate of ionization of neon in a hollow cathode discharge lamp irradiated with a pulsed laser whose wavelength (659.9 nm) is in resonance with the neon transition. Changes in ionization rates were observed as a function of current variation across the lamp electrodes, thus enabling the atomic -- electron collisional processes within the plasma to be characterized. A mathematical model was developed to fit the optogalvanic waveforms for the 1s$_{5}$ -2p$_{2}$ neon transition at 659.9 nm and determine the instrumental time constant and exponential rate parameters in order to better understand the atom-electron interactions and the dynamics of the discharge plasma.