Using the aerosol and cloud simulation chamber AIDA we investigated the laser filament induced particle formation in ambient air, humid synthetic air, humid nitrogen, argon-oxygen mixture, and pure argon in order to simulate the particle formation under realistic atmospheric conditions as well as to investigate the influence of typical gas-phase atmospheric constituents on the particle formation. Terawatt laser plasma filaments generated new particles in the size range 3 to 130 nm with particle production rates ranging from 1 × 107 to 5 × 109 cm−3 plasma s−1. In all cases the particle formation rates increased exponentially with the water content of the gas mixture. Furthermore, the presence of a few ppb of trace gases like SO2 and α-pinene clearly enhanced the particle yield by number, the latter also by mass. Our findings suggest that new particle formation is efficiently supported by acids generated by the photo-ionization of both major and minor components of the air, including N2, NH3, SO2 and organics.
