Toroidal dust motion in magnetized plasmas

Abstract

In a magnetized anodic plasma, dust particles can be confined in a torus-shaped cloud with a distinct dust-free region (void) in its center. The formation of these clouds and their dynamical behavior are experimentally studied with a new observation geometry. The particles rotate about the major axis of the torus. A refined model for the description of the particle dynamics is presented that accounts for inertia and many-body effects.

Plasma crystals: experiments and simulation

“…Experimental studies of dust flows allow us to study hydrodynamic phenomena at the microscopic scale of particle interactions. This field was opened by the discovery of toroidal flows in magnetized anodic plasmas [106]. The toroidal trap is formed by electric fields and the Pedersen component of the ion drag force.…”

Dust streaming in toroidal traps

“…In a magnetized anodic plasma, the confinement and dynamics of torus-shaped dust clouds was studied experimentally [1,2] and was described in terms of a hierarchic single-particle model [1]. An extended one-dimensional model which included collective effects showed new aspects including the occurrence of dust lattice waves [3]. Now, the three-dimensional motion of particles in a toroidal trap is studied in terms of molecular dynamics simulations.…”

Experiments and Simulations of Particle Flows in a Magnetized Dust Torus

“…The dust is set into rotation by the Hall component of the ion flow across a magnetic field, which exerts an ion drag force on the dust particles. [11,12]. Above this threshold a stationary dust flow is established with a flow speed that is smaller on the rising side of the dust flow than on the descent.…”

“…The main features of this stationary flow were described in Refs. [11,12]. In the present article, an overview of the phenomena in toroidal dust flows is given and the aspects of shell formation and non-stationary flows are studied in more detail.…”