Effect of confinement on the crystallization of a dusty plasma in narrow channels

Abstract

Three-dimensional quasi-equilibrium configurations of a complex (dusty) plasma in narrow channels are investigated using the molecular dynamics simulations for various confining potentials (confinements). The dynamics of the microparticles is described within the framework of a Langevin thermostat with allowance for the pair interaction between charged particles, which is described by a screened Coulomb potential (Yukawa potential). Two confinements-the parabolic potential and hard elastic wall-are considered. It is shown that the confinement strongly affects the crystallization and the local order of the microparticles in the system under consideration; in particular, the appearance of a new quasicrystalline phase induced by the hard wall confinement is revealed. © 2008 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.