Vibrational mode in a two-dimensional dust monolayer is investigated by considering the finite size of dust grains. Each dust grain is assumed to be a negative point charge and a dipole moment due to the inhomogeneous charge distribution on its surface. The dispersion relation of the vibrational mode is derived. Both the self-excited and externally excited cases are discussed. It is shown that the mode is sensitive to the direction of the dipole moment.
Dust plasmas have received considerable attention in recent years due to the fact that a kind of crystal could be established, which is a typical example of an ideal material. In this system, the dust particles are often confined upon a three-dimensional sheath of an axissymmetric concave electrode, where the axial electrostatic force balances the gravitation and the radial electrostatic force keeps the dust from running away horizontally. In this paper, a threedimensional sheath structure is simulated through a liquid model, and the movement of the dust particles is simulated via the dynamic method. The crystals are obtained self consistently. The effect of both the electrode size and the mass of dust particles on the crystals are discussed. The simulation result demonstrates that two kinds of dust crystals could be established by varying the sheath diameter, and some proper conditions are necessary for the formation of a double layer dust crystal.
Finite clusters with a small number of charged particles immersed in a plasma environment have been numerically simulated with a dynamic method. Finite Coulomb clusters are systems of a small number of charged particles, N = 1 to 100, confined by a potential produced by plasma 2D-sheath. Under the action of net force each particle is in an equilibrium position and together they form finite Coulomb clusters. The results of our study show the configuration of Coulomb clusters do not depend on their initial state. After theoretically studied and tested by using the Monte Carlo technique we also prove the system energy is the determinant parameter of the configuration. In addition, the effect of the external magnetic field on the cluster configuration is analyzed.
A numerical two-fluid simulation of the non-ionized radio frequency （rf） sheath model, has been carried out. This model is ＂global＂ and thus applicable to the sheath, pre-sheath and plasma regions, In the model all variables in the ion force balance equation, including the electrical force, ion pressure and neutral particle friction, are considered. The model is solved through a finite difference scheme and sheath characteristics are obtained. The effects of the ion temperature on both the collisionless and collisional sheath characteristics are discussed. Then it is concluded that 1） the model is in a good agreement with Bohm Theorem; 2） the ion temperature has significant effects on the rf sheath characteristics. The effects are far more significant on a collisional rf sheath than on a collisionless sheath.
