# Instability onset and scaling laws of an autooscillating turbulent flow in a complex plasma

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the onset of heartbeat instability in a complex plasma under microgravity, analyzing how energy spectra and cascade ratios change, revealing scaling laws akin to two-dimensional turbulence.

## Contribution

It provides new insights into the instability onset and scaling laws in complex plasma turbulence, comparing experimental spectra with theoretical predictions.

## Key findings

- Instability onset affects energy and enstrophy cascade ratios.
- Power-law exponents of energy spectra change during instability.
- Results align with Kraichnan and Leith's two-dimensional turbulence theory.

## Abstract

We study a complex plasma under microgravity conditions that is first stabilized with an oscillating electric field. Once the stabilization is stopped, the so-called heartbeat instability develops. We study how the kinetic energy spectrum changes during and after the onset of the instability and compare with the double cascade predicted by Kraichnan and Leith for two-dimensional turbulence. The onset of the instability manifests clearly in the ratio of the reduced rates of cascade of energy and enstrophy and in the power-law exponents of the energy spectra.