A two-dimensional particle code that simulates electrical breakdown of gases by modeling avalanche evolution from the initial ion-electron pair up to the development of a streamer is presented. Trajectories of individual particles are followed, the self-field is included consistently and collision processes are accurately modeled using experimentally determined cross sections. It is emphasized that the tadpolelike structure of well-formed streamer heads is present throughout the avalanche phase, and that the transition to the self-similar evolution characteristic of the streamer phase merely reflects the continued development of this structure. The importance of this for conventional fluid simulations of streamers, where the initial conditions for the streamer are taken to be a structureless Gaussian concentration of neutral plasma with significant density, is discussed. In the (realistic) situation where several avalanches are present simultaneously the large self-fields that rapidly develop lead to a strong interaction between them, in accord with the standard “cartoon” of streamer evolution.

• Received 11 April 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.68.026412