A note on the binary interaction potential in complex (dusty) plasmas

Journal Article · Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2967483· OSTI ID:21120547

Khrapak, S A; Morfill, G E ^[1]

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1. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik, D-85741 Garching (Germany)

The effect of ion-neutral collisions on the potential of interaction between a pair of negatively charged grains in isotropic weakly collisional plasmas is investigated. Two interaction mechanisms are considered: Electric repulsion between like-charged grains and attraction due to the so-called ''ion shadow'' effect. It is demonstrated that in the presence of collisions, both interaction potentials exhibit Coulomb-like {proportional_to}r{sup -1} decay at large distances. A necessary condition for the existence of long-range attraction is derived. The obtained results are then used to reconsider the possibility of liquid-vapor critical point occurrence in complex plasmas.

• OSTI ID: 21120547
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 15, Issue 8; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2967483; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COLLISIONAL PLASMA
COLLISIONS
IONS
LIQUIDS
POTENTIALS
SHADOW EFFECT
VAPORS