Influence of an external electric field on plasma parameters around an isolated dust particle

Abstract

The paper presents new numerical results on the behavior of plasma parameters around an isolated charged
dust particle under the action of the external electric field. For the first time, the model takes into account the
dependence of mean electron energy on the reduced electric field strength. As a result of the calculations, the
dependencies of self-consistent spatial distributions of the electron and ion densities and electric potential
around the dust particle on reduced external electric field strength were obtained. These distributions were
analyzed through the expansion into Legendre polynomials. The processes of ion focusing wake
formation behind the dust particle were studied. The dust particle charge and the dipole moment of the
“ion cloud - dust particle” are calculated for different values of the reduced electric field and ion mean free
paths. It is shown that in the determination of electron density spatial profile and the dust particle charge the
dependence of electron temperature on electric field strength plays a significant role.

Key words: dusty plasma, dust particle charging, dipole moment, wake, plasma polarization.