Dependence of ion wake characteristics on experimental conditions

Abstract

Two-dimensional microparticle crystals can be formed in the sheath of a gas discharge plasma. Ions from the bulk plasma are accelerated in the sheath electric field, flowing past the grains to create a positive ion wake downstream from the grains. Interaction between the ion wake and neighboring grains creates additional coupling between oscillation modes and can trigger mode-coupling instability (MCI). In order to better understand MCIs, the interaction between dust grains and ion wakes must be understood; however, the relationship between the discharge parameters and ion wake characteristics is unknown. A molecular dynamics simulation of ion dynamics and dust charging is used to self-consistently determine the dust charge and ion wake characteristics for different synthetic experimental conditions. It is found that the ion wake is strongly dependent on the background gas pressure but not affected much by the discharge power.

A novel diagnostic for dust particle size in a low-pressure nanodusty plasma based on the decay of the electron density released by laser-induced photodetachment

“…Due to the fact that electrons are much lighter and therefore more mobile compared to ions, the equilibrium charge of a dust particle will generally be negative in the plasma bulk region. Under certain conditions, the dust particles and the plasma environment can be strongly coupled, which will give rise to phenomena such as dust crystallization, [14][15][16] phase transitions, 17 selfexcited dust density waves, [18][19][20] and chain formation. 21 All of these effects are fundamentally driven by the dust particle charge, which makes it one of the key parameters in dusty plasma physics.…”