Dust density influence on complex plasma decay

Lénaïc Couëdel (1) , Alexander A. Samarian (2) , Maxime Mikikian (1) , Laifa Boufendi (1)

1 GREMI - Groupe de recherches sur l'énergétique des milieux ionisés
2 School of Physics

In this paper, the influence of dust particles on the plasma losses in a complex plasma afterglow is studied. It is shown that the dust particles can drastically shorten the plasma loss time by absorption-recombination onto their surfaces. The dust particle absorption frequency increases with the dust density but the dependence is not linear for high dust density. Finally, the possible use of dust absorption frequency measurements as a diagnostics for complex plasmas is mentioned and supported by comparison to existing experimental data.

Mots clés: Dust particles; afterglow; complex plasma

Domaines: Plasmas; Physique des plasmas [physics.plasm-ph]

Lénaïc Couëdel, Alexander A. Samarian, Maxime Mikikian, Laifa Boufendi. Dust density influence on complex plasma decay. Fifth International Conference on the Physics of Dusty Plasmas, May 2008, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal. pp.185, ⟨10.1063/1.2996829⟩. ⟨hal-00328136⟩