Dust jets produced by a dust-discharge instability

Abstract

We report observations of an instability that occurs in a dc glow discharge ͑anodic plasma͒ dusty plasma when a floating plate with a 5 mm aperture is placed in front of the anode. The instability is characterized by periodic quenching and reignition of the discharge. When the discharge is quenched, the dust is ejected from the aperture at speeds on the order of the dust-acoustic speed. The ejected dust remains partially charged and retracts back to the aperture when the discharge spontaneously redevelops.