E. A. Zverev

Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Irkutsk, Russia

I. A. Krinberg

Irkutsk State University, Russia

It is shown that non-equilibrium ionisation may originate the essential ion charge state en-hancement in a case of increasing the electron temperature and density out of the near-cathode region due to action of self-magnetic field of vacuum discharge. In steady-state and quasi-steady-state vacuum arcs a such increase results from the discharge current rise and the decrease of a root cross-section of a cathode plasma flow. In the very short-pulse discharge the temperature increase up to 100 eV results from neck formation on the plasma flow.

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