Discharge plasma instabilities in the presence of an external constant electric field

The instabilities of a weakly ionized quasineutral plasma embedded in an external constant electric field are investigated. Special attention is paid to the dispersion equation with taking into account the interparticle collisions, the ionization and the recombinations. Dependency of the electron-neutral collision frequency, the electron-ion recombination coefficient and the ionization frequency on the electron temperature are considered. Most of the instabilities investigated are stipulated by the sign change of derivative of kinetic coefficients with respect to temperature. A new instability in which the plasma is assumed to be near the equilibrium state is found although an electric drift and heating of light particles (electrons) exists. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.