Abstract |
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Recent advances in the study of collective effects and particle motions in plasma-dust crystals, ordered structures that form in the cathode sheath region of low temperature gaseous discharges, are presented. Plasma collective processes influence the arrangements and vibrations of dust particles in these Coulomb lattice structures. One important effect is the wake potential formation due to ion flow, leading to the vertical alignment of dust grains in experiments. The oscillations of dust particles in the lattices are strongly affected by collective processes in the ambient plasma, in particular by the wake. Modes associated with vertical vibrations of dust grains are identified, and their dispersion characteristics are discussed. The modes can provide a useful tool for diagnostics in the sheath region of the discharge. |
Contents |
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Introduction The dust-plasma crystal Grain charging Equilibrium of the dust grain Lattice vibrations Scattering of electromagnetic radiation from a dust crystal Discussion |
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