Acoustic modes in dense dusty plasmas

Abstract

Properties of acoustic modes in high dust density dusty plasmas are studied. The solutions of fluid equations for electrons, ions, and dust grains with collisional and ionization effects are solved along with an equation for grain charging. The high dust density effects on the acoustic modes are interpreted in terms of a change in the screening properties of the grain charge. At low dust density, the grain charge is screened due to electrons and ions. However, at high dust density, the screening of the grain charge due to other grains also becomes important. This leads to a reduction of the phase-velocity, which in turn is shown to make the plasma more unstable at high dust density. In this regime the role of the ion acoustic mode is replaced by the charging mode. The relevance of these results to earlier theoretical studies and experimental results are discussed.