Work

Experimental, simulation, and theoretical studies of nonplanar pinned solitons in a dusty plasma

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We report on the first experimental observations of cylindrical and spherical pinned solitons in a flowing dusty plasma medium. The experiments are performed in the inverted Π-shaped DPEx device in which a dusty plasma is made to flow over a charged object (of cylindrical or spherical shape). It is found that over a range of supersonic velocities, 2-D half-cylindrical or 3-D half-spherical soliton structures get excited and remain attached to the front of the charged object. An important finding is the multi-humped nature of the spatial structure of these solitons and a decrease in the number of humps with increasing flow velocity. To provide theoretical support to these experimental findings, we perform molecular dynamics simulations and also construct and numerically solve a model forced Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation appropriate for the experimental conditions. The theoretical results show good qualitative agreement with the observations and provide valuable insights into the origin and dynamics of these nonlinear structures.

Source: Physics of Plasmas

DOI: 10.1063/5.0272749

Authors: Prasanta Amat, P. Bandyopadhyay, Krishan Kumar, Ajaz Mir, A. Sen

Institutions: Homi Bhabha National Institute, Institute for Plasma Research, West Virginia University

Language: English

Topic: Dust and Plasma Wave Phenomena

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Indian National Science Academy, Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development

Award: G1977154020