Wake potential of a dust grain in a plasma with ion flow

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.872112· OSTI ID:435169

Ishihara, O ^[1]; Vladimirov, S V ^[2]

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1. Department of Electrical Engineering and Department of Physics, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409-3102 (United States)
2. Research Centre for Theoretical Astrophysics, School of Physics, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006 (Australia)

Debye screening potential and wake potential for a moving dust grain in a collisionless plasma with ion flow is studied. When a relative velocity of the dust grain exceeds the ion acoustic velocity, the oscillatory wake potential is formed in a circular cone behind the particle and produces potential minima in a periodic manner. The ion acoustic collective effects on dust particles contribute to the formation of the periodic structure. The characteristic spacing between the potential minima are several times of Debye wavelength in height and in radius. Such a periodic structure may be relevant to the formation of Coulomb quasilattices (plasma crystals) observed in the dusty plasma laboratory experiments. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}

• OSTI ID: 435169
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 4; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
CRYSTALS
DIFFUSION
DUSTS
PLASMA
PLASMA IMPURITIES
PLASMA POTENTIAL
PLASMA SHEATH
PLASMA WAVES
POTENTIALS