Dynamics of a guided streamer ('plasma bullet') in a helium jet in air at atmospheric pressure

It has been demonstrated experimentally that a non-equilibrium plasma column can be generated by discharge pulses in a helium jet surrounded by atmospheric-pressure air. The 'plasma jet' can be longer than 10 cm and fast imaging shows that most of the light emitted by the plasma jet is produced in a small 'plasma bullet' that propagates along the helium jet at speeds of several tens of km s(-1). With the help of a simple fluid model of the discharge, we show that the plasma jet is very similar to a cathode streamer (ionization wave) guided by the helium jet. We discuss the properties of the helium streamer and of the plasma channel behind the streamer head as a function of parameters such as electrode geometry, voltage pulse waveform and preionization density. The model can reproduce qualitatively and explain most of the features observed experimentally.