Experimental investigation of the melting transition of the plasma crystal

Stationary Velocity and Charge Distributions of Grains in Dusty Plasmas

“…Thai is in qualitative agreement with the experimental observation of melting by dusty crystals by reduction of the gas pressure [8,9].…”

“…However, in the case of a dominant influence of charging collision T eff can be still anomalously large. This fact can be used for a qualitative explanation of the experimentally observed grain temperatures which are usually much higher than the ion temperature, T g ¿ T i (see, for example, [8,9], T i ϳ 0.1 eV, T g ϳ 4 40 eV). Finally, we point out that the obtained results can be modified also for the case of a plasma with a neutral component.…”

Dusty Plasmas in the Laboratory, Industry, and Space

“…The ability to image dusty plasmas at the particle level lets researchers study the melting phase transition, phonons, and other condensed matter phenomena with unprecedented directness. 13 One manifestation of phonons that is uncommon in molecular solids is the so-called Mach cone, a V-shaped wake created by a moving supersonic disturbance. In a laboratory dusty plasma, Mach cones are made by applying force to the particles by means of laser light.…”

Microcalorimetry of dust particles in a radio-frequency plasma

“…In the plasma, the particles acquire a negative charge and the resulting electrostatic particle interactions can result in a spatial arrangement of the particles into regular patterns, which are known as Coulomb crystals. 4,5 A Coulomb crystal can be formed when the ratio of the Coulomb energy to the kinetic energy of the particles exceeds a certain critical value. The formation and structure of the crystal depends on plasma parameters like gas flow rate, radio-frequency ͑rf͒ power, gas pressure, and particle parameters like size and size distribution.…”