Sizing of particles levitating in a glow discharge dusty plasma

The dust particle size distribution in a volume glow discharge dusty plasma is studied. Polydisperse quartz particles are used as a dust component. It is found that a dusty plasma forms in a glow discharge not only in a dust trap but also near the wall at the bottom of the discharge chamber. Dust objects in the latter region are large: they contain up to 30000 particles. The size of particles levitating in discharge striations is three times larger than that of particles levitating near the wall. The idea of using the glow discharge dusty plasma for particle-size fractionation of polydisperse powder is put forward.     

Interaction between glow discharge plasma and dust particles

The effect of dust particle concentration on gas discharge plasma parameters was studied through development of a self-consistent kinetic model which is based on solving the Boltzmann equation for the electron distribution function. It was shown that an increase in the Havnes parameter causes an increase in the average electric field and ion density, as well as a decrease in the charge of dust particles and electron density in a dust particle cloud. Self-consistent simulations for a wide range of plasma and dust particle parameters produced several scaling laws: these are laws for dust particle potential and electric field as a function of dust particle concentration and radius, and the discharge current density. The simulation results demonstrate that the process of self-consistent accommodation of parameters of dust particles and plasma in condition of particle concentration growth causes a growth in the number of high-energy electrons in plasma, but not to depletion of electron distribution function.     

Velocity distribution of Brownian particles at the input of a closed detector

The velocity distribution function of passive-tracer particles in a gas flow on a closed boundary of a given spatial region is found for various relations between the regular drift and diffusion. An example of calculation of the velocity probability density on the boundary of a region comprising a source of particles is given.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 86–93, January 2005.     

Spherical striations in a glow discharge

The stratification of a volume glow discharge is observed experimentally. Spherically symmetric stationary striations are detected. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 11, 679–682 (10 December 1997)     

Study of glow discharge positive column with cloud of disperse particles

The study aims to describe plasma parameters changes induced by clouds of disperse micron size particles. Dust clouds were formed in the positive column of glow discharge in air at pressure 0.1-0.6 torr and current 0.1-3 mA. The simultaneous registration of discharge voltage and dust cloud parameters was carried out. Experimental results were simulated using diffusion model. The dust cloud is shown to smooth the radial electron concentration profile, increase electric field strength and electron temperature and stabilize the discharge. The cloud is demonstrated to be a trap for positive ions without increase of discharge current.     

Ordered dust structures in a glow discharge

Highly ordered three-dimensional dust structures are created in a striated glow discharge, and their horizontal cross-sectional images are analyzed. Calculated correlation functions, local correlation parameters, and corresponding approximations are used to classify the state of a structure according to the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young (KTHNY) two-dimensional melting theory and a phenomenological approach. An orientational map based on an orientational parameter is proposed to expose domains in a cross section of a structure. It is shown that a plasma crystal is a polycrystal consisting of hexagonal domains (crystallites). Thermophoretic forces are used to create corners of various angles in the perimeter of the structure. Transition between hexagonal and square cell shapes is observed.     

Subprocesses accompanying nitriding in a glow discharge

Nitriding in a glow discharge is analyzed at the level of its components. A basically new (as compared to the classical) scheme of the process is proposed taking into account the most significant subprocesses.     

Analysis of the size and shape of polydisperse dust particles in a complex glow discharge plasma

The size and shape factor distribution of levitating particles is studied by the method of extraction of dust particles from the discharge chamber. Two dust traps existing in a glow discharge in the strata and above the lower wall of the tube near the bend in the current channel are investigated separately. It is found that the size distribution of polydisperse particles of an arbitrary shape is of the bimodal type due to simultaneous levitation of particles with two shape factors. Polydisperse spherical particles of any size exhibit levitation due to the separation of particles over the wall thickness. For identical parameters of the discharge, the size of the particle in neon is slightly larger than in krypton; the particle size in the trap located in a stratum is substantially larger than the particle size in the trap above the wall of the discharge tube. Precision determination of the shape and size of particles makes it possible to estimate the electric field strength for dust traps. It is shown that the glow discharge can be used as a tool for separation of dust particles in a wide range of their sizes.     

Spectroscopic study of a glow discharge in krypton

The concentrations of excited atoms at the 4p⁵5s and 4p⁵5p levels of Kr I are determined by the reabsorption and emission methods. The absolute values off for ten Kr I lines in the infrared region of the spectrum are determined from the known value off ₈₈₁₂ and from measured relative values of the oscillator strengths. Processes leading to the formation and decay of excited states of krypton atoms are discussed.In conclusion, the authors wish to thank Professor A. N. Tekuchev for valuable comments, and also Yu. P. Grigorov, T. F. Dubtsov, L. V. Zaitsev, and V. S. Korchunov for assisting with the experiments.     

Theory of a normal high-pressure glow discharge

In the present work, a theoretical model considering the processes of generation and losses of charged particles in the cathode region of a glow discharge in the drift approximation for ion and electron motion is developed. Exact analytical solutions, which can be used to calculate the current-voltage characteristics of the glow discharge in an arbitrary gas with the known Townsend ionization coefficient, are derived. The calculated parameters of the normal glow discharge (the current density, discharge burning voltage, and width of the space charge region) for different gases are in good agreement with the available experimental data. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 2, pp. 71–77, February, 2006.     

Velocity autocorrelation function of a Brownian particle

In this article, we present molecular dynamics study of the velocity autocorrelation function (VACF) of a Brownian particle. We compare the results of the simulation with the exact analytic predictions for a compressible fluid from [T.S. Chow, J.J. Hermans, Physica 65, 156 (1973)] and an approximate result combining the predictions from hydrodynamics at short and long times. The physical quantities which determine the decay were determined from separate bulk simulations of the Lennard-Jones fluid at the same thermodynamic state point. We observe that the long-time regime of the VACF compares well the predictions from the macroscopic hydrodynamics, but the intermediate decay is sensitive to the viscoelastic nature of the solvent.     

Emission by nitrogen in a high-pressure glow discharge

Relative intensities are reported for the emission spectrum of N₂ in a glow discharge. The bands of the first and second positive systems were studied at pressures between 10 and 100 mm Hg. Pressure reduces the intensity of the first system more rapidly than that of the second: this may be due to quenching of the B³II state.     

Mixed-mode oscillations and chaos in a glow discharge

We present results from numerical simulations on mixed-mode oscillations and chaos excited in a glow discharge, where a model of one-dimensional fluid equations coupled with an external circuit is used. Long duration of high ion and electron densities and fast recharge of a capacitor after a breakdown contribute to the generation of mixed-mode oscillations. The chaotic behavior is characterized by a one-dimensional multibranched map.     

Positive column of a glow discharge in a ternary mixture

The positive column of a glow discharge in a ternary mixture is considered. It is assumed that there is a primary gas, to which are added two gases (vapors) which are completely responsible for the ionization processes. The primary gas serves as a background determining such characteristics as the mobility and the diffusion coefficient of the atoms, ions, and electrons. The axial ion current in the discharge leads to an axial redistribution of the impurity atoms. This phenomenon, called cataphoresis, was considered first in [1] for a binary mixture. In the present paper axial cataphoresis is considered in a ternary mixture.