Threshold Phenomena in a Throbbing Complex Plasma

Mikikian, Maxime; Coueedel, Lenaiec; Cavarroc, Marjorie; Tessier, Yves; Boufendi, Laiefa

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.105.075002

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Threshold Phenomena in a Throbbing Complex Plasma

Mikikian, Maxime·Coueedel, Lenaiec·Cavarroc, Marjorie·Tessier, Yves·Boufendi, Laiefa

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Abstract

In complex plasmas, the trapped dust particle cloud is often characterized by a central dust-free region ('void'). The void induces a spatial inhomogeneity of the dust particle distribution and is at the origin of many intricate unstable phenomena. One type of this kind of behavior is the so-called heartbeat instability consisting of successive contractions and expansions of the void. This instability is characterized by a strong nonlinear dynamics which can reveal the occurrence of incomplete sequences corresponding to failed contractions. Experimental results based on high-speed imaging are presented for the first time and underline this threshold effect in both the dust cloud motion and the evolution of the plasma light emission.

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70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY DUSTS ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION EMISSION EXPANSION INSTABILITY NONLINEAR PROBLEMS PARTICLES PHOTON EMISSION PLASMA PLASMA EXPANSION PLASMA INSTABILITY RADIATIONS TRAPPING VISIBLE RADIATION

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Mikikian, Maxime, Coueedel, Lenaiec, Cavarroc, Marjorie, Tessier, Yves, Boufendi, Laiefa. 2010-08-13. Threshold Phenomena in a Throbbing Complex Plasma. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.105.075002

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