Exploring Self-Organization of Charged Dust Dimers in Plasma

Abstract

We investigate the self-organization of charged dust dimers in plasma using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, with emphasis on both positional and orientational ordering. For a finite number of dimers confined by a radial electric field, the system evolves from simple arrangements to ring-like structures as the particle number increases. These rings exhibit diverse orientational states, including radial, transverse, and mixed alignments of the dimer axis, reflecting a strong coupling between spatial confinement and orientational degrees of freedom. For larger systems studied under periodic boundary conditions, bulk-like behavior emerges with coupled positional and orientational correlations. The results highlight the significance of anisotropy in determining equilibrium structures and demonstrate that orientational order plays a crucial role alongside positional ordering in complex plasmas with shaped particles. This work provides motivation for experimental studies involving shaped dust particles to explore orientational ordering phenomena beyond conventional spherical dust particle systems.