Measurements of the dust acoustic wave in a high magnetic field environment

A dusty plasma is a traditional plasma system with a third charged species consisting of nanometer to micron sized particulate matter. The presence of this third charged species results in a system that is notably more complex than the traditional plasma system and supports a wide range of physical phenomena, including a wave mode known dust acoustic wave. Recent measurements of the properties of this wave have shown unexpected behavior and suggests that thermal effects are important in understanding the behavior of the dust. One proposed mechanism for the observed thermal effects is an ion-dust streaming instability. In this poster, we present preliminary results of an experimental study examining the properties of this wave mode in the Magnetized Dusty Plasma Experiment (MDPX) device at Auburn University, where it is possible to vary the strength and direction of the magnetic field relative to the direction of wave propagation and to control the direction of ion flow through the dust cloud.