Monte Carlo Investigations of Non-Equilibrium Effects at High Values of E/p in Swarm Experiments in Hydrogen

The results of a Monte Carlo computer simulation of the properties of electrons in a gas at pressure p sUbjected to a constant electric field E are presented for E /p = 350 V cm -1 torr-1 in hydrogen. Evidence is provided that the spatial growth of ionization is essentially non-equilibrium in these circumstances and that the general form of the predicted growth of currents is consistent with experiment.