Interaction of two macroparticles in a nonequilibrium plasma

The interaction of two macroparticles in a nonequilibrium plasma at elevated pressures has been investigated. An asymptotic theory of screening, which leads to a two-exponential dependence of the macroparticle potential on distance with different screening constants, is used to determine the electrostatic energy of the system of charges associated with the two macroparticles. The dependence of the electrostatic energy on interparticle distance has been found to have a minimum, as in an equilibrium plasma. The interaction force between the macroparticles has been determined; it turned out to be asymmetric—for different charges, the forces acting on the first and second macroparticles are not equal. This is the result of an asymmetric charge separation near macroparticles with differing charges and indicates that the interaction force in a nonequilibrium plasma is nonpotential. The forces are equal for identical macroparticles or in an equilibrium plasma and the potential energy of the interaction between the macroparticles has been determined for these cases. Attraction between likely charged particles with different (in magnitude) charges has been found to be possible when they come very close together. Relations to determine the modified coupling parameter for an interaction potential that consists of two exponential terms with different screening constants have been derived.     

Electrostatic interaction of macroparticles in a plasma in the strong screening regime

We have studied the electrostatic interaction of spherical particles in an equilibrium plasma or an electrolyte in the moderate and strong screening regimes when the macroparticle size is comparable with or much larger than the Debye screening radius. We have developed an approximate theory of the electrostatic interaction of macroparticles in the case of constant potentials of their surfaces in the weak or moderate screening regimes. In this theory, the charges of macroparticles with a fixed spacing between them are determined using vacuum capacitive coefficients, which are corrected taking into account the plasma screening effects. The force of interaction with the resultant charges is calculated based on the solution of the problem of interaction in a homogeneous dielectric (vacuum) and is multiplied by the plasma factor. We have also obtained an approximate solution to the problem in the strong screening regime. Comparison with the exact solution has demonstrated high accuracy of the proposed methods of calculation.     

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.     

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.     

Anomalously high kinetic energy of charged macroparticles in a plasma

A number of recent experimental investigations of nonideal plasmas containing macroparticles have revealed an anomalous increase in that part of the kinetic energy of these macroparticles that corresponds to their random motion. In this paper a model is proposed for the dynamic motion of charged macroparticles that explains this phenomenon.Calculations based on this model are compared with experimental results. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 499–506 (August 1997)     

Simulation of the dynamics of strongly interacting macroparticles in a weakly ionized plasma

The method of molecular dynamics is used to study the dynamic behavior of a nonideal system of particles interacting through screened Coulomb potential. The behavior of the self-diffusion coefficient of particles as a function of the nonideality parameter is investigated. The conditions of the crystallization of such a system are discussed, as well as the possibility of using the crystallization criterion, based on the dynamic characteristics of the system.     

Effect of the size of macroparticles on their electrostatic interaction in a plasma

The electrostatic interaction of two spherical macroparticles in a plasma has been considered. Primary attention has been focused on investigating the electrostatic interaction at short distances where polarization effects of the surface charge of finite-size macroparticles begin to play a dominant role. The first part of this study is devoted to the interaction of a point charge with a charged conducting sphere in an equilibrium plasma. It has been shown that the presence of a plasma in the system leads to a decrease in the potential barrier when two like-charged macroparticles approach each other and that this decrease proves to be the most significant in the case where the macroparticle radius is comparable to the Debye screening length. The second part of this study is concerned with the interaction of two conducting spheres in the bispherical system of the coordinates under the assumption that the charges of the conducting spheres are constant and under the assumption that the surface potentials of the spheres are constant. The latter case is closer to the physics of electrostatic interaction of two macroparticles in a plasma medium where the electrostatic potential of their surface is determined by the floating potential of the plasma. It has been demonstrated that the interaction potentials in these two cases are substantially different from each other and that, at constant macroparticle charges, the energy of the electrostatic field is an interaction potential, but, in the case of macroparticles with constant surface potentials, which are independent of the interparticle distance, the energy of the electrostatic field is not an interaction potential. In the latter case, account must be taken of the work done by external sources on the macroparticle potentials to maintain them constant. The form of the interaction potential has been established in this case from the analysis of the interaction force in terms of the Maxwell tension tensor. In the third part of this study, the interaction of two macroparticles has been considered in the spherical system of coordinates and analytical expressions for the interaction potentials have been derived for both the case of constant macroparticle charges and the case of constant surface potentials of the macroparticles.     

Self-oscillations of macroparticles in the dust plasma of glow discharge

Two types of instabilities emerging in dust-plasma systems with a spatial gradient of the macroparticle charge are considered. It is shown that the change in the macroparticle charge is an effective mechanism for exciting dust self-oscillations in a laboratory plasma. The results of experimental observations and an analysis of the conditions for the development of various self-oscillations of macroparticles in the strata of a dc glow discharge are presented.     

Experimental study of heat transfer processes for macroparticles in a dusty plasma

The results of the experimental study of heat transfer processes in liquid dusty structures are reported. The experiments have been carried out for aluminum oxide particles in an rf discharge plasma. The thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the dusty plasma component have been determined by analyzing the steady and unsteady heat transfer processes. The temperature dependence has been obtained for these quantities, which is in qualitative agreement with numerical simulation results for a simple one-atomic fluid.     

Dynamics of formation of ordered structures in a thermal plasma with macroparticles

The molecular dynamics method is used to model the formation of ordered structures of charged macroparticles in a thermal plasma at atmospheric pressure. The results of the numerical calculations are compared with the experimental data. It is shown that the ordered structure of macroparticles detected experimentally is far from steady state, since the existence time of the plasma in the experiment is less than the characteristic time of formation of the structure. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 837–845 (March 1999)     

Experimental study of transport of macroparticles in plasma RF-discharge

Experimental study of the kinematic viscosity and the diffusion is performed for macroparticles of different sizes in plasma of a capacitive radio-frequency (RF-) discharge. Experimental examination of the Einstein-Stokes relation between the viscosity and diffusion constants is carried out. A comparison of the measured transport constants with the existing numerical data is presented.     

Nonclassical transport in a nonequilibrium laser plasma

The onset of a nonequilibrium distribution function in a plasma produced by laser radiation at fluxes I - 10¹⁴ W/cm² is considered. The model employed takes consistent account of the nonlocality of the electron distribution at large density and temperature gradients, the demaxwellizing effect of the external hf field of the laser, and the nondiffusion of the transport in the high-energy part of the electron-distribution spectrum. Numerical solution of the corresponding kinetic equations shows that establishment of a nonequilibrium electron distribution in the corona suppresses the heat transport substantially. Good agreement is obtained between the kinetic value of the heat flux and the phenomenological value needed to reconcile the hydrodynamicsimulation results with the experimental data.Quantum Radiophysics Division, Lebedev Physics Institute. Translated from Preprint No. 179 of the Ledebev Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1989.     

Statistical description of nonequilibrium self-gravitating systems

Self-gravitating systems are non-equilibrium a priori. A new approach is proposed, which employs a non-equilibrium statistical operator that takes account inhomogeneous distribution of particles and temperature. The method involves a saddle-point procedure to find the dominant contributions to the partition function, thus obtaining all thermodynamic parameters of the system. Probable peculiar features in the behavior of the self-gravitating systems are considered for various conditions. The equation of state for self-gravitating systems has been determined. A new length of the statistical instability is obtained for a real gravitational system, as are parameters of the spatially inhomogeneous distribution of particles and temperature.     

Oscillation interaction in a nonequilibrium magnetoactive plasma

Kharkov State University: Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 675–679, June, 1988.     

Stochastic resonance in a nonequilibrium electron-hole plasma

A photogenerated electron-hole plasma, heated in the process of Auger recombination, is studied. It is shown that in the plasma near the threshold for the appearance of uniform relaxational self-excited oscillations, weak noise transforms into a stochastic sequence of large-amplitude spikes. An additional optical periodic signal with amplitude approximately five times smaller than the noise variance, depending on the form of this signal, transforms these stochastic oscillations into low-amplitude quasiharmonic oscillations or into periodic spike self-excited oscillations of enormous amplitude. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 7, 422–427 (10 October 1999)