Inter-grain coupling and grain charge in dusty plasma Coulomb crystals

Journal Article · Wed Oct 21 04:00:00 EDT 1998 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.56671· OSTI ID:21202186

Smith, M A; Goodrich, J; Mohideen, U ^[1]; Rahman, H U ^[2]; Rosenberg, M; Mendis, D A ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 (United States)
2. IGPP, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 (United States)
3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States)

We have studied the lattice structure and grain charge of dusty plasma Coulomb crystals formed in rectangular conductive grooves as a function of plasma temperature and density. The crystal appears to be made of mutually repulsive columns of grains confined by the walls of the groove. The columns are oriented along the direction of the electrode sheath electric field. A simple phenomenological model wherein the inter-grain spacing results from an attractive electric field induced dipole-dipole force balanced by a repulsive monopole Coulomb force is consistent with observed features of the Coulomb crystal.

• OSTI ID: 21202186
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 446; ISSN APCPCS; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
COULOMB FIELD
COUPLING
DIPOLES
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRODES
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ION TEMPERATURE
MONOPOLES
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY