Generation of VUV radiation in Lyman and Werner bands of pulsed space discharge in hydrogen mixtures with helium

A self-consistent numerical model for the self-sustained high-current pulsed discharge is constructed based on the solution of the equations of the population of H2 electronic and vibrational states. The model accounts for electronic, ion-molecular, and vibrational kinetics, electron attachment to and detachment from the H2 molecule, Lyman and Werner band emission, and their radiation trapping. The equations of electron-vibrational kinetics are solved simultaneously with the Boltzmann equation for the electron energy distribution function and the external electrical circuit equations.