Transport of microparticles in weakly ionized gas-discharge plasmas under microgravity

• Published in: Microgravity science and technology Vol. 16; no. 1-4; pp. 311 - 316
• Main Authors: Petrov, O. F., Vaulina, O. S., Fortov, V. E., Molotkov, V. I., Lipaev, A. M., Chernyshev, A. V., Gavrikov, A. V., Shakhova, I. N., Morfill, G. E., Thomas, H., Khrapak, S. A., Semenov, Yu. P., Ivanov, A. I., Kaleri, A. Yu, Krikalev, S., Zaletin, S. V., Gidzenko, Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Nature B.V 01.03.2005
• Subjects: Charge; Correlation; Dusty plasmas; Dynamical systems; International Space Station; Mathematical models; Microgravity; Microparticles; Numerical simulations; Plasma diagnostics; Plasmas; Space stations; Studies; Transport
• ISSN: 0938-0108; 1875-0494
• DOI: 10.1007/BF02945997

Effective structural (pair correlation function) and transport (diffusion constant) characteristics of the system of microparticles (dusty plasma) have been measured in a set of experiments in dc- and rf gasdischarge plasmas in ground-based and microgravity conditions on the board of Russian “Mir” Space Station and International Space Station. The comparison between these measurements and numerical simulations were used for dusty plasma diagnostics. Specifically, the effective coupling parameter, which mainly governs structural and dynamical properties of the system, was determined for different experimental conditions. The application of these measurements to estimate the particle charge and the plasma screening length is discussed.