Interaction of charged dust particles in clouds of thermodynamically equilibrium charges

The solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for a cloud of charges surrounding two charged dust particles treated as Debye atoms forming a Debye molecule is investigated numerically using Cassini coordinates. The electric force exerted on a dust particle by the other dust particle was determined by integrating the electrostatic pressure on the surface of the dust particle. It is shown that attractive forces appear when the following two conditions are satisfied. First, the Debye radius (corresponding to the electron density at half the mean distance between the dust particles) must be approximately equal to half the mean distance between the dust particles. Attraction between the dust particles emerges at a distance equal approximately to half the mean distance between the dust particles. Second, attraction takes place when like charges are concentrated predominantly on the dust particles. If the particles carry a small fraction of charge of the same polarity, repulsion between the particles takes place at all distances.     

Bipolar charging of dust particles under ultraviolet radiation

The photoemission charging of dust particles under ultraviolet radiation from a xenon lamp has been investigated. The velocities of yttrium dust particles with a work function of 3.3 eV and their charges have been determined experimentally; the latter are about 400–500 and about 100 elementary charges per micron of radius for the positively and negatively charged fractions, respectively. The dust particle charging and the dust cloud evolution in a photoemission cell after exposure to an ultraviolet radiation source under the applied voltage have been simulated numerically. The photoemission charging of dust particles has been calculated on the basis of nonlocal and local charging models. Only unipolar particle charging is shown to take place in a system of polydisperse dust particles with the same photoemission efficiency. It has been established that bipolar charging is possible in the case of monodisperse particles with different quantum efficiencies. Polydispersity in this case facilitates the appearance of oppositely charged particles in a photoemission plasma.     

Dusty photoresonant plasma with coulomb collisions

We have studied the charging of dust particles in a dense photoresonant sodium plasma with electron and ion densities as high as 10¹⁶ cm^?3 produced by laser pumping of the resonance level of Na, which was a small admixture (up to 1%) in an argon buffer gas. We show that the charge of dust particles with a radius of 10 mm at maximum reaches 3 × 10⁵ electron charges and that the potential of the dust particles at a low electron bulk loss rate agrees well with the orbital motion limited (OML) model data. The behavior of the electric field near a dust particle was found to be nonmonotonic. We established that the distribution of the potential near a solitary charged dust particle agrees well with the Debye one, but the screening length proves to be much larger than even the electron Debye length; the discrepancies are largest at the afterglow stage of the photoresonant plasma, when the sodium ion with a low recombination coefficient is the main plasma ion. We determined the domain of parameters for a dense plasma where an ensemble of dust particles can crystallize.     

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     

Levitation of charged macroparticles in the anode region of a glow discharge

Levitation of dust particles in the anode region of a dc glow discharge was observed for the first time. A dust cloud of several tens of particles formed at a distance of several millimeters above the central part of the anode. When the discharge parameters were varied, the shape of the cloud and its position above the anode varied. An analysis of the experimental conditions revealed that these particles are positively charged in contrast to other experiments on the levitation of dust particles in a gas-discharge plasma. An estimate of the particle charge taking into account processes of electron emission from their surface is consistent with results of measurements of the electric field strength.     

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     

Effective interaction potential and ordered structures of dust particles in a gas-discharge plasma

An effective potential is proposed for the interaction between dust particles in a gas-discharge plasma which takes account of the following physical factors: the spatial dependence of the particle charges on the floating potential of the plasma, anisotropy of the interaction, resulting from focusing of the negatively charged particles of the drift ion current, and aspects of screening of the dust particles by plasma electrons and ions which interact strongly with them and recombine faster in their vicinity and on their surface. Monte Carlo calculations explain the formation of threadlike structures of dispersed particles, and also “transverse crystallization” of these “threads” in a stratified gas-discharge plasma. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 819–836 (March 1999)     

Screening and attraction of dust particles in plasmas

The potential around a dust particle in a plasma is found using the collisional hydrodynamic equations of dusty plasmas, taking into account ion-dust and ion-neutral collisions and considering the plasma source proportional to the dust density. The linear screening is strongly influenced by the collisions and can substantially differ from Debye screening. Attraction of negatively charged dust particles can occur due to overscreening by the ion fluxes in the presence of friction forces.     

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.     

New physical concept of the formation of dust crystals

A clear physical model is proposed for phase transitions in a dusty plasma. According to this model, the formation of plasma dust crystals is associated with the nonlinear effect of the collective attraction of dust particles. The nonlinear collective attraction between negatively charged dust particles corresponds to large charges of dust particles used in the available experiments. This concept provides a new physical model of crystallization that is attributable to the capture of dust particles in an attractive potential well rather than to the strong interaction between them. Calculation using this model yields the depth of the attractive potential well and the critical coupling constant in good agreement with the available experimental data.     

Attraction mechanism of like-charged aerosol particles in a moving conductive medium

We analyze the structure of the space electric charge that appears in the vicinity of a charged dust particle in a moving conductive medium. We show that when the conduction currents play a major role, the screening space charge is concentrated in the form of a thin wake behind the dust particle, while the total Coulomb field forms a dipole structure and serves as an attractive center for other particles with charges of the same sign. We consider the pairing conditions for such particles. Including the polarization contribution from the dust component to the permittivity radically changes the field structure when the dust particle concentration approaches the dissipative instability threshold. In this case, the zone of attraction of like-charged dust particles expands sharply. Estimates suggest that the effects under consideration can govern the formation of regular structures in a moving dusty plasma at fairly high pressures, P > 0.1–1 mbar.     

Screening of a moving charge in a nonequilibrium plasma

Based on the model of point sinks, we consider the problem on the screening of the charge of a moving macroparticle in a nonequilibrium plasma. The characteristic formation times of the polarization cloud around such a macroparticle have been determined by the method of a three-dimensional integral Fourier transformation in spatial variables and a Laplace transformation in time. The screening effect is shown to be enhanced with increasing macroparticle velocity. We consider the applicability conditions for the model of point sinks and establish that the domain of applicability of the results obtained expands with decreasing gas ionization rate and macroparticle size. We consider the problem of charge screening at low velocities and establish that the stationary potential of the moving charge has a dipole component that becomes dominant at large distances. We show that the direction of the force exerted on the dust particle by the induced charges generally depends on the relationship between the transport and loss coefficients of the plasma particles in a plasma. When the Langevin ion recombination coefficient β _iL = 4πeμ _i exceeds the electron-ion recombination coefficient β _ei , this force will accelerate the dust particles in the presence of sinks. In the absence of sinks or when β _ei > β _iL , this force will be opposite in direction to the dust particle velocity. We also consider the problem on the energy and force of interaction between a moving charged macroparticle and the induced charges.     

Metastable state of three-component two-temperature plasma and fireball problem

It has been shown that like-charged particles inside electroneutral plasma can be attracted to each other, in contrast with non-electroneutral plasma considered in the literature, where such particles electrostatically repulse when they have any distance between them. We have calculated an analytical formula for the free energy of electroneutral three-component two-temperature plasma, from the basis of the Poisson–Boltzmann electrostatic equation. It is shown that free energy has a local minimum when the temperature of electrons exceeds 2000 K, when the quantity of electrons is less than 20% of the total quantity of negatively charged particles, when the temperature of ions is 300 K and when the distance between ions is several Debye radii. Plasma of a specified structure, temperature and density can mimic a fireball substance, in contrast with, for example, two-component isothermal plasma which has no minimum free energy at any interparticle distance.     

Electrostatic force of dust deposition originating from contact between particles and photovoltaic glass

Charged photovoltaic glass produces an electrostatic field. The electrostatic field exerts an electrostatic force on dust particles, thus making more dust particles deposited on the glass. In this paper, the contact electrification between the deposited dust particles and the photovoltaic glass is studied. Meanwhile, the surface charge density model of the photovoltaic glass and the electrostatic force of charged particles are analyzed. The results show that with the increasing of the particle impact speed and the inclination angle of the photovoltaic panel, the charges on particles increase to different degrees.Under a given condition, the electrostatic forces acting on the charged particles at different positions above the glass plate form a bell-shaped distribution at a macro level, and present a maximum value in the center of the plate. As the distance between the particle and the charged glass decreases, the electrostatic force exerted on the particle increases significantly and fluctuates greatly. However, its mean value is still higher than the force caused by gravity and the adhesion force,reported by some studies. Therefore, we suggest that photovoltaic glass panels used in the severe wind-sand environment should be made of an anti-static transparent material, which can lessen the dust particles accumulated on the panels.     

Electron clouds around charged particulates

Poisson’s equation is used to derive an expression for the characteristics of the Debye electron cloud around a multiply charged particle. It is shown that the limiting dimension of the Debye cloud (for an infinitely large charge of the particles) varies from 0.7 to 2.2 Debye radii, depending on the geometry of the problem. A first-principles modeling of the dynamics of many electrons moving around an immobile charged center is carried out. It is shown that a metastable state which relaxes at least one thousand times more slowly than would follow from the kinetic theory is established. Calculations show that in this metastable state (which is far from thermodynamic equilibrium) there is a detailed balance of electron transitions from a state with one energy to another. The distribution of electrons over kinetic energy has a Maxwellian form, while the distribution over total energy is radically different from the Boltzmann distribution and is close to that which was established previously by the authors for a plasma of singly charged ions. The potential distribution around the immobile charge in the metastable plasma is obtained. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 53–57 (January 1999)     

Screening of a moving charge in a nonequilibrium plasma

The problem of screening a moving charged dust particle is analyzed in the model of point sinks. Typical time scales for the formation of a polarization cloud around the moving macroscopic particle are found using the three-dimensional integral transform with respect to the spatial coordinates and the Laplace transform in time. It is shown that the stationary potential of a moving charge has a dipole component dominating at sufficiently large distances. The force exerted on a moving charged macroscopic particle by the electric field of induced charges is calculated. It is shown that, in general, the direction of this force depends on the ratio between the transfer coefficient and the decay rate of plasma particles in the plasma. In the presence of sinks, a dust particle is accelerated by this force if the Langevin recombination rate for ions, β _iL = 4πeμ _i , exceeds the electron-ion recombination rate β _ei . In the absence of sinks or if β _ei > β _iL this force is antiparallel to the dust-particle velocity.     

Coagulation of charged particles in a dusty plasma

An investigation is made of characteristic features in the behavior of small particles in a dusty plasma attributable partly to the suppression of coagulation as a result of monopolar charging for particle sizes smaller than the Debye shielding length and partly to the reduction in the effect of charging for larger particles. Similarity relations linking the plasma composition and particle charge with the parameters of the dust component are used to determine the range of parameters for which the linear approximation of the particle charge as a function of their sizes holds. A modified classical theory of coagulation in the diffusion approximation is used to study some anomalies in the behavior of the particle size distribution. It is established that unlike an ordinary aerosol, in a dusty plasma the dispersion of the distribution and the average particle size may decrease with time. It is shown for the first time that a long-lived “quasi-liquid” state of a dusty plasma may be established as a result of the anomalous behavior of the size distribution function of coagulating charged particles.     

Wake potential with mobile positive/negative ions in multicomponent dusty plasmas

We employ the test charge approach to calculate the electrostatic potential for a test charge in a multicomponent dusty plasma, whose constituents are the Boltzmann distributed electrons, mobile positive and negative ions, and immobile positive/negative charged dust particles. By using the modified dielectric constant of the dust-ion-acoustic (DIA) waves, the Debye screening and wake potentials are obtained. It is found that the presence of mobile negative ions significantly modify the DIA speed and the wake potential. The present results are relevant to polar mesosphere and microelectronic in the context of charged particle attraction and repulsion.     

Formation and dynamics of Saturn and its disk simulated by using a new N-body model

The formation of Saturn and its disk is simulated using a new N-body self-gravitational model. It is demonstrated that the formation of the disk and the planet is the result of gravitational contraction of a slowly rotated particle cloud that have a shape of slightly deformed sphere. The sphere was flattened by a coefficient of 0.8 along the axis of rotation. During the gravitational contraction, the major part of the cloud transformed into a planet and a minor part transformed into a disk. The thin structured disk is a result of the electromagnetic interaction in which the magnetic forces acting on charged particles of the cloud originate in the core of the planet. The simulation program gives such parameters of Saturn as the escape velocity of about 35 km/s at the surface, density, rotational velocities of the rings and temperature distribution.     

On the mechanism of own rotation of dust particles

We analyze the physical reason for own rotation of dust particles. We propose from analysis of literature data and our previous studies that own rotation of dust particles is due to azimuth-symmetric flow of ions to the particle surface, which is associated with a nonuniform distribution of the surface charge. This assumption is in conformity with the results of experiments in which the plasma flow is changed by introducing particles in the horizontal plane (horizontal cluster) and particles aligned along the discharge current (vertical cluster) and with the observation of the rotation threshold for the discharge current and the magnetic field. The experiments are performed with spherical particles using the coordinate tracing method. Our results make it possible to construct a model of spinning of charged dust tops for describing magnetic properties of a complex plasma.