Structural properties of 3D complex plasmas under microgravity conditions
Klumov, B.; Joyce, G.; Räth, C.; Huber, P.; Thomas, H.; Morfill, G. E.; Molotkov, V.; Fortov, V.; Klumov, B.; Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik - D-85741 Garching, Germany, EU; Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences - Moscow, 125412, Russia; Joyce, G.; University of Maryland - College Park, MD 20742, USA; Räth, C.; Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik - D-85741 Garching, Germany, EU; Huber, P.; Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik - D-85741 Garching, Germany, EU; Thomas, H.; Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik - D-85741 Garching, Germany, EU; Morfill, G. E.; Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik - D-85741 Garching, Germany, EU; Molotkov, V.; Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences - Moscow, 125412, Russia; Fortov, V.; Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences - Moscow, 125412, Russia
Журнал:
EPL (Europhysics Letters)
Дата:
2010-10-01
Аннотация:
We report the structural properties of three-dimensional complex plasmas observed recently on board the International Space Station. A local order analysis reveals spatially resolved features that occur during the crystallization of a plasma crystal. The plasma crystal consists of hcp and fcc phases with a small fraction of bcc-like clusters. It has been shown that the observed anisotropy of the system of microparticles is due to presence of the hcp phase. Molecular-dynamics simulations of crystallization of a system of particles, interacting via Debye-Hückel (Yukawa) potential, reproduces the observed local order remarkably well.
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