Decay of metastable atoms in the afterglow of single-electrode breakdown

This paper deals with experimental studies of ionization waves igniting the breakdown in long discharge tubes in neon at low pressures. Ionization waves were produced by rectangular voltage pulses applied to the high-voltage electrode of the discharge tube. Our research focused on concentration measurements of neon excited atoms at the metastable 1s5(3P2) level after the ionization wave passage and the breakdown termination. We also found the characteristic decay times of these states and the most significant elementary processes responsible for metastable atom deactivation.