Effect of levitated dust kinetics in the dynamic evolution of inhomogeneous plasma sheath

The main goal here is to study theoretically the formation of plasma sheath in an inhomogeneous dusty plasma. The effect of weak ionization of the dust grains as similar to the Townsend discharge has been incorporated to see how it influences the evolution of sheath. Sheath equation has been derived to describe the properties of sheath structures analytically and numerically. It has shown that the ionization along with the inhomogeneity affects significantly the growth of sheath which has been highlighted elaborately for some typical plasma parameters. After getting well defined sheath region, dynamical behaviour of levitated dust grains into the sheath has been studied. The totality of the findings has been centred around the estimation of dust surface potential, dust sizes along with the generation of net force on dust grains. Both inhomogeneous and ionization effects allow the dust grains in acquiring different potential to sustain equilibrium in different places. As a result of this, nebulons and the dust cloudlike structures are electrically charged.     

Linear propagation of dust acoustic modes in the presence of an electron beam

The physical and optical properties of plasmas are depended on dynamics of species in the discharge volume. Then, the presence of an electron beam, as a separate component, in a dusty plasma can modify the plasma structures through altering the discharge parameters. In this report, the linear propagation of acoustic modes in a collisionless dusty plasma contains electrons, ions and charged dust grains is investigated in the presence of an electron beam. Our analysis indicates that the electron beam can modify the dispersion relations of dust acoustic modes which resulted different data transportation in dusty plasmas. The obtained results are also examined for negative and positive charged dust grains with different number densities. The charge of dust grains represents an important role in the dynamics of the low frequency waves. Additionally, our findings reveal that the propagation of acoustic waves in dusty plasmas can be controlled by adjusting the electron number density of the beam and the cathode potential. Lastly, we obtian the destabilizing effects, originated from dust charge fluctuation, by reconsidering the dispersion relations of both dust acoustic modes.     

尘埃粒子在直流辉光放电阴极鞘层中的运动及悬浮

研究尘埃粒子在直流辉光放电阴极鞘层中的运动特性,并讨论了尘埃粒子携带的电荷、受到的各种力及悬浮位置等.尘埃粒子在鞘层中的运动特性及悬浮位置主要由它的尺寸大小和它所受到的各种力(重力、电场力、离子拖拽力、中性粒子拖拽力)决定.比较无碰撞鞘层和碰撞鞘层发现,尘埃粒子在碰撞鞘层中的悬浮位置更加靠近极板;比较下鞘(阴极板放在下方时的鞘层)和上鞘(阴极板放在上方时的鞘层)发现,在下鞘中只有同一半径的尘埃粒子悬浮在鞘层中的同一位置,而在上鞘中两种不同半径的尘埃粒子可以悬浮在鞘层中的同一位置.悬浮在鞘层中的尘埃粒子只可 关键词：     

Levitation and dynamics of a collection of dust particles in afully ionized plasma sheath

Examines the dynamics of a collection of charged dust particles in the plasma sheath above a large body in a fully ionized space plasma when the radius of the large body is much larger than the sheath thickness. The dust particles are charged by the plasma, and the forces on the dust particles are assumed to be from the electric field in the sheath and from gravitation only. These forces will often act in opposite directions and may balance, making dust suspension and collection possible. The dust particles are supplied by injection or by electrostatic levitation. The ability of the sheath to collect dust particles, will be optimal for a certain combination of gravitation and plasma and dust particle parameters. In a dense dust sheath, the charges on the dust particles contribute significantly to the total space charge, and collective effects become important. These effects will reduce the magnitude of the sheath electric field strength and the charge on the dust particles. As dust particles are collected, the dust sheath is stretched and the largest dust particles may drop out, because the sheath is no longer able to suspend them. In a tenuous dust sheath, the inner layer, from the surface and about one Debye length thick, will be unstable for dust particle motion, and dust will not collect there. In a dense dust sheath, collective effects will decrease the thickness of this inner dust-free layer, making dust collection closer to the surface possible. By linearization of the force and current equations, the necessary and sufficient conditions for a stable dust sheath are found. The authors consider conditions which resemble those of planetary system bodies, but the results may also be of relevance to some laboratory plasmas     

Instability-triggered phase transition to a dusty-plasma condensate

Highly charged dust grains in plasma discharges reside at the sheath edge, where the ions stream toward the electrode at speed approximately c(s). Above a critical pressure P(crit), the grains lose their kinetic energy and reach a strongly coupled crystalline state, but for P P(crit) by the combined effect of ion-molecule and grain-molecule collisions.     

Effects of non‐extensive electrons on the sheath of dusty plasmas with variable dust charge

In this study, a detailed investigation of the problem of sheath is presented using the fluid model in a magnetized three‐component dusty plasma system comprising positive ions, dust grains with variable charge and q‐non‐extensive electrons (i.e., the electrons evolve far away from their Maxwellian thermodynamic equilibrium [q = 1]). The effects of q‐non‐extensivity parameter on the plasma sheath parameters are studied numerically. A significant change is observed in the quantities characterizing the sheath with the presence of the super‐extensive electrons (q < 1) and sub‐extensive electrons (q > 1). In addition, based on the orbital motion limited theory, by taking various forces acting on the dust particle into consideration, the dynamics of the dust located within the sheath, that is, the dust grain charging inside the sheath, is examined under different values of q. It is found that the q‐non‐extensivity has affected significantly the dynamics and the charging process of the dust grains in the sheath.     

Evolution of charged grains in harmonic force field

Evolution of the spatial structure of the massive charged grains in the presence of weak linearly space-dependent external force in a dusty plasma is studied using molecular dynamics simulation. The interaction among the dust grains in the background electron-ion plasma is described by a modified Yukawa interaction potential that includes both repulsive and attractive ranges. Evolution of the initially homogeneously distributed dust grains is followed until a quasi-stationary state is reached. Even though the external force is radially highly asymmetric, the final configuration of the charged grains can be a circular crystal. Still driven by the external force, the grains in the crystal execute synchronized oscillations in the direction of the force. The time needed to reach the quasi-stationary state decreases with increase of the strength of the external force.     

Rogue wave triplets in an ion-beam dusty plasma with superthermal electrons and negative ions

A new dust ion-acoustic wave structure called ‘Rogue wave triplets’ is investigated in an unmagnetized plasma consisting of stationary negatively charged dust grains, charged positive and negative ions, and electrons obeying kappa distribution, which is penetrated by an ion beam. The reductive perturbation theory is used to derive the nonlinear Schrödinger equation governing the dynamics as well as the modulation of wave packets. The rogue wave triplets which are composed of three separate Peregrine breathers can be generated in the modulation instability region. It has been suggested that a laboratory experiment be performed to test the theory presented here.     

On the role of dust in the cometary plasma

The cometary coma consists of neutral gas, plasma, and dust grains. The dust grains can influence both the neutral and charged coma’s constituents. Usually, the presence of dust particles in a plasma results in additional losses of both electrons and ions due to the plasma recombination on the particle surfaces. Solar radiation makes the impact of dust even more complicated depending on the solar flux, the dust number density, the photoelectric properties of the dust particles, the dust particle composition, the distribution of the sizes, etc. We propose a simple kinetic model evaluating the role of dust particles in the coma plasma chemistry and demonstrate that this role can be crucial, resulting in a nontrivial behavior of both the electron and ion densities of the plasma. We show that a coma’s dust particles can be negatively as well as positively charged depending on their composition. These opposite charges of the grains can result in fast coagulation of dust particles, thus, forming complex aggregate shapes of cometary grains. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Possibility of weakly charged nonlinear solitary dust clouds near the continuum threshold of dust population in a quasi-neutral dusty plasma

Considering the Boltzmann response of the plasma ions and electrons and inertial dynamics of the charged dust grains, the possibility of very weak compressive soliton near the continuum limit of the dust population has been inferred. It is concluded that the behaviour of such coherent structures could be well described by the numerical analysis of the derived nonlinear classical energy integral equation for bounded solutions. These seem to be higher order dispersive structures within acoustic limit of the nonlinear turbulence. It is observed that the dust density enhancement beyond the continuum threshold causes regular increment in width and amplitude of the soliton structures. It is found that the soliton amplitude sensitively depends on the massive impurity’s population. These coherent structures could be visualized as weakly charged solitary dust clouds of finite extension (∼ plasma Debye length) within Boltzmann environment of plasma particles in their local surroundings. The seeding mechanism of such clouds may be attributed to some plasma instabilities driven by either internal or external free energy sources. Numerical analysis of the problem concludes that the experimental observations of such clouds could be possible in low density plasma regime. It is deduced that for plasma density ∼ 10⁶ cm^-3 at temperatures of a few electron volts and for micron to l0nm sized dust grains, the observation of such structures could be possible within wide range variability of the dust population density.     

The dust acoustic wave in a bounded dusty plasma with strong electrostatic interactions between dust grains

The dispersion relation for the dust acoustic wave (DAW) in an unmagnetized dusty plasma cylindrical waveguide is derived, accounting for strong electrostatic interactions between charged dust grains. It is found that the boundary effect limits the radial extent of the DAW. The present result should be helpful for understanding the frequency spectrum of the DAW in a dusty plasma waveguide with strongly coupled charged dust grains.     

A particle-in-cell simulation of dust charging and shielding in lowpressure glow discharges

The transport of particles (“dust”) in low pressure electrical glow discharges is being studied in regard to its role in contaminating silicon wafers during plasma etching and deposition. Particles (10 s nm-μm) negatively charge in glow discharges and, to first order, appear to be massively large negative ions around which sheaths develop. The forces on particles in plasmas include electrostatic (drift of charged particles in electric fields) and viscous ion drag. The latter force is momentum transfer from ions to particles by either collisions or orbital motion. This force critically depends on the charge on the particle and the shape of the sheath surrounding the particle. In this work, we report on a pseudoparticle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of the transport of electrons and ions in the vicinity of dust particles in low pressure glow discharges. The simulation produces the electrical charge on the dust particle, the sheath structure around the dust particle and the orbital dynamics of the ions. A companion molecular dynamics simulation uses these parameters to produce ion-dust and electron-dust particle cross sections for momentum transfer and collection. Results will be discussed for charge, sheath thickness, cross sections and viscous ion drag forces on dust particles as a function of radius and plasma parameters     

A dust plasma

A dust plasma was created using spores in a glass discharge tube. The dust particles become negatively charged, levitate in the positive plasma potential, and behave like massive electrons. A laser beam is used to make the dust visible, revealing plasma structure, such as the wall sheath and the direction of the local electric field     

Acceleration of dust grains by means of the high energy ion beam

The acceleration of charged dust grains by a high energy ion beam is investigated by obtaining the dispersion relation. The Cherenkov and cyclotron acceleration mechanisms of dust grains are compared with each other. The role of dusty plasma parameters and the magnetic field strength in the acceleration process are discussed. In addition, the stimulated waves by an ion beam in a fully magnetized dust–ion plasma are studied. It is shown that these waves are unstable at different angles with respect to the external magnetic field. It is also indicated that the growth rates increase by either increasing the ion and dust densities or decreasing the magnetic field strength. Finally, the results of our research show that the high energy ion beam can accelerate charged dust grains.     

Theory of sheath in a collisional multi-component plasma

The aim of this brief report is to study the behaviour of sheath structure in a multi-component plasma with dust-neutral collisions. The plasma consists of electrons, ions, micron size negatively charged dust particles and neutrals. The sheath-edge potential and sheath width are calculated for collisionally dominated sheath. Comparison of collisionless and collisionally dominated sheath are made.     

非均匀磁场尘埃等离子体中颗粒的复杂运动

本文研究了在非均匀磁场尘埃等离子体中不规则尘埃颗粒的复杂运动, 包括圆滚运动、尖头圆滚运动、圆周运动以及波浪运动等. 放置在电极上的圆柱形磁铁的主要作用是改变鞘层的径向分布, 进而对颗粒产生径向约束, 使尘埃颗粒悬浮于圆柱形磁铁周围, 其磁场并不足以磁化颗粒使其做圆滚运动. 通过与球形尘埃颗粒的对比实验发现, 圆滚运动是不规则尘埃颗粒在等离子体中特有的一种运动. 我们提出了一种新的机理: 由于不规则颗粒的自旋而引起的横向反Magnus力对颗粒的圆滚运动起了重要的作用. 文中通过受力分析定性地对实验中观察到的非球形颗粒的各种运动给出了合理的解释.     

Characteristics of Dust Plasma Sheath in an Oblique Magnetic Field

The characteristics of dust plasma sheath in an oblique magnetic field are investigated with a fluid model. Hot electrons, cold ions, neutral particles, and dust grains are taken into account in this system. We perform a numerical simulation of the sheath. The results reveal that the magnetic field has significant effects on the sheath structure, and it also makes the suspension position of dust shift away from the wall.     

两种带电尘埃颗粒的等离子体鞘层玻姆判据

采用流体方程和尘埃充电自洽模型研究了鞘边含有两种尘埃颗粒的等离子体玻姆判据. 通过拟牛顿法数值模拟了鞘边两种尘埃颗粒的存在对尘埃自身充电以及离子马赫数的影响. 两种尘埃颗粒中含量较少的尘埃颗粒数密度的增加, 导致两种尘埃颗粒表面悬浮势一个降低, 一个升高. 含量较少的尘埃颗粒的数密度越多和半径越小, 都会导致离子马赫数增大. 另外鞘边无论何种尘埃颗粒的速度增加, 鞘边离子马赫数都将减小. 关键词： 等离子体鞘层 尘埃颗粒 玻姆判据     

Electrodynamics and dispersion properties of a magnetoplasma containing elongated and rotating dust grains

The electrodynamics and dispersion properties of a magnetized dusty plasma containing elongated and rotating charged dust grains are examined. Starting from an appropriate Lagrangian for dust grains, a kinetic equation for the dust grain and the corresponding equations of motion are derived. Expressions for the dust charge and dust current densities are obtained with the finite size (the dipole moment) of elongated and rotating dust grains taken into account. These charge and current densities are combined with the Maxwell-Vlasov system of equations to derive dispersion relations for the electromagnetic and electrostatic waves in a dusty magnetoplasma. The dispersion relations are analyzed to demonstrate that the dust grain rotation introduces new classes of instabilities involving various low-frequency waves in a dusty magnetoplasma. Examples of various unstable low-frequency waves include the electron whistler, the dust whistler, dust cyclotron waves, AlfvÉn waves, electromagnetic ion-cyclotron waves, as well as lower-hybrid, electrostatic ion cyclotron, modified dust ion-acoustic waves, etc. Also found is a new type of unstable waves whose frequency is close to the dust grain rotation frequency. The present results should be useful in understanding the properties of low-frequency waves in cosmic and laboratory plasmas that are embedded in an external magnetic field and contain elongated and rotating charged dust grains.     

Measurement of temperature of a dusty plasma from its configuration

A new concept called “configurational temperature” is introduced in the context of dusty plasma, where the temperature of the dust particles submerged in the plasma can be measured directly from the positional information of the individual dust particles and the interaction potential between the dust grains. This method does not require the velocity information of individual particles, which is a key parameter to measure the dust temperature in the conventional method. The technique is initially tested using two-dimensional (2D) OpenMP parallel molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation and then compared with the temperature evaluated from experimental data. The experiment have been carried out in the Dusty Plasma Experimental (DPEx) device, where a 2D stationary plasma crystal of melamine formaldehyde particles is formed in the cathode sheath of a DC glow discharge argon plasma. The kinetic temperature of the dust is calculated using the standard particle image velocimetry technique at different pressures. An extended simulation result for the three-dimensional case is also presented, which can be employed for the temperature measurement of a three-dimensional dust crystal in laboratory devices.