Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The microscopic structure within a two-dimensional shock was studied using data from a dusty plasma experiment. A single layer of charged microparticles, levitated in a glow-discharge plasma, was perturbed by an electrically floating wire that was moved at a steady supersonic speed to excite a compressional shock. A rearrangement of particles was observed, from a hexagonal lattice in the preshock into a quadrilateral microstructure on the front side of the shock. This quadrilateral structure would not be stable in a monolayer of identical repulsive particles, under equilibrium conditions. Glaser-Clark polygon analysis of the microstructure helped in identifying quadrilaterals. Voronoi analysis was used to characterize the defect fraction behind the shock, as an indication of shock-induced melting.
Source: Physical review. E
Authors: Anton Kananovich, J. Goree
Institutions: University of Iowa, Appalachian State University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4409163046