What is the working principle of automotive xenon headlights?

[VanAthena]

Automotive xenon headlights work as follows: After the power is turned on, the transformer instantly boosts the 12V power supply to a high-voltage pulse exceeding 20,000 volts, activating the xenon gas in the xenon bulb to produce strong light with a color temperature ranging from 6000K to 10000K in the arc, appearing as crystal white with a slight purple-blue tint. Xenon headlights refer to high-pressure gas discharge lamps filled with a mixture of inert gases including xenon, without the filament found in halogen lamps, abbreviated as HID xenon lamps. They can also be called metal halide lamps or xenon lamps, categorized into automotive xenon headlights and outdoor lighting xenon lamps. They replace traditional tungsten filaments with high-pressure xenon gas enclosed in quartz tubes, providing higher color temperature and more focused illumination.