New SubmissionDust Particle Dynamics in a Complex Plasma

A prototype "dusty plasma racetrack" has been developed that allows both optical access to charged dust particles within a low temperature, dusty plasma environment and the introduction of external perturbations (optical, thermal, electrical or magnetic) under controlled conditions. This novel experiment will allow nanometer to micron sized dust particles to be used as 'probes' of the local complex plasma environment. The experiment will allow the dust-dust interaction potential to be examined across a wider range of parameter spaces in order to better describe the wake-modified dust interaction potential in one-component dusty plasma models of turbulent systems. The data produced will be used to appropriately calibrate the numerical model DRIAD (Dynamical Response of Ions and Dust), bridging critical gaps between theory, computation, and experiment. Taken together, this should provide new and fundamental insights into both complex plasma and the physics underlying the emergence of coherent structure in turbulent flows, increasing our understanding of the complexity of multi-scale turbulent systems.