Three-dimensional characterization of short-gap streamers in air at atmospheric pressure

Three-dimensional (3-D) images are presented for the propagation of streamers in a short uniform gap in air at atmospheric pressure. Results are obtained through a self-consistent solution of the hydrodynamic diffusion-drift model, which includes Poisson's equation and the continuity equations for the charged particles. A 3-D extension of the finite element-flux corrected transport (FE-FCT) algorithm with the incorporation of a new subgridding scheme for the efficient calculation of secondary effects, such as photoionization, is utilized to obtain these 3-D simulation images.