Dusty plasma liquids

Abstract

The dusty plasma liquid formed by micro-meter sized particles negatively charged and suspended in a low pressure discharge background is a good candidate to study the generic spatio-temporal dynamical behaviors at the kinetic level through direct optical video-microscopy, because of the sub-mm interparticle spacing and the slow time scale. In this paper, starting from the basic picture of the avalanche type stick-slip cooperative hopping process under the interplay of mutual coupling and the stochastic thermal agitation, we briefly review our recent study on particle micro-motion and the associated structural rearrangement. The effect of mesoscopic confinement and external slow shear drive are also discussed.