Ion wake-mediated dust interactions under PK-4 conditions: a generalized and compact potential formulation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a generalized potential model for dust and ion wake interactions in dusty plasmas, enabling more accurate simulations of complex dust structures under PK-4 conditions.

Contribution

A robust, general potential model derived from molecular dynamics simulations that accurately captures ion wake effects for various dust configurations.

Findings

Model accurately reproduces potential distributions at multiple distances.

Application demonstrates effectiveness in simulating diverse dust arrangements.

Applicable to a wide range of dusty plasma phenomena.

Abstract

Dusty plasmas, composed of electrons, ions, neutral particles, and charged dust grains, exhibit self-organization phenomena such as string-like structures observed in microgravity experiments. The formation of these structures is influenced by ion wakes generated by streaming ions under external electric fields, as well as by time-evolving plasma inhomogeneities such as ionization waves. Existing ion wake models, such as point charge and Gaussian-based representations, often rely on configuration-specific parameters, limiting their general applicability. In this work, we present a robust and general potential model for dust and ion wake systems under PK-4-like conditions. Using a small set of coefficients determined from molecular dynamics simulations, the model captures the potential distributions for multiple interparticle distances. Its application to test cases and implementation in a small scale dust dynamics simulation demonstrates its applicability to a wide range of dust arrangements beyond string-like configurations.