Streamer discharge inception in a sub-breakdown electric field from a dielectric body with a frequency dependent dielectric permittivity

We study positive streamer inception from the tip of an elongated ice particle. The dielectric permittivity of ice drops from 93 to 3 for electric fields changing on the millisecond timescale [1]. We demonstrate that this effect can be important on the nanosecond time scale of streamer discharge development. The effect makes the streamer propagate with only half the velocity it would have for the dielectric permittivity fixed to 93