Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The PlasmaKristall-4 (PK-4) experiment on the International Space Station allows for the study of the three-dimensional interaction between plasma and dust particles. Previous simulations of the PK-4 environment have discovered fast moving ionization waves in the dc discharge [Hartmann et al., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 29, 115014 (2020)]. These ionization waves vary the plasma parameters by up to an order of magnitude, which may affect the mechanisms responsible for the self-organization of chains seen in the PK-4 experiment. Here, we adapt a molecular dynamics simulation to employ temporally varying plasma conditions in order to investigate the effect on the dust charging and electrostatic potential. In order to describe the differences between the average of the plasma conditions and the time-varying plasma condition, we present a model to reproduce the interaction that takes into account the negative potential from the dust grain and the positive potential from the ion wake.
Source: Physics of Plasmas
DOI: 10.1063/5.0241139
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: PK-4: Self-Ordering of Interacting Complex Plasma Particles in Microgravity, RII Track-1: Future Technologies and Enabling Plasma Processes, G3686562270, Collaborative Research: Study of Anisotropic Dust Interactions in the PK-4 Experiment, Collaborative Research: Study of Anisotropic Dust Interactions in the PK-4 Experiment, DUST AND IONS: SELF ORGANIZATION AND STABILITY, G75872417
OpenAlex ID: W4407918328