Study on sheath formation in astroplasmas under Coriolis force and behavior of levitated dust grains forming nebulon around Moon

Pseudopotential analysis has been employed to derive a modified Sagdeev potential-like wave equation for studying the sheath formation in astroplasma problems. Complexity in process urges to derive the new findings numerically by using fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Main emphasis has been given to investigate the role of Coriolis force on the formation and changes on coherent structures of sheath suitably thought for the configuration of astroplasma. Study determines the sheath thickness and potential variation with the interaction of Coriolis force and thereby finds dynamical behavior of levitated dust grains into the evaluated sheath region. This leads to find the dust size, and corresponding forces generated on dust grain with a view to relate theoretical observations to real astrophysical phenomena and could be of interest to explain formation of dust clouds in spaces. To support the observations, we some thoughtful numeric plasma parameters for the case of Earth’s Moon, have taken for graphical presentations. Overall observations expect the study could be of interest as an advanced knowledge in rotating astroplasmas, and expecting many salient features which are yet to be known.     

Time-dependent simulations of steady C-type shocks

Using a time-dependent multifluid, magnetohydrodynamic code, we calculated the structure of steady perpendicular and oblique C-type shocks in dusty plasmas. We included relevant processes to describe mass transfer between the different fluids, radiative cooling by emission lines and grain charging, and studied the effect of single- and multiple-sized grains on the shock structure. Our models are the first of oblique fast-mode molecular shocks in which such a rigorous treatment of the dust grain dynamics has been combined with a self-consistent calculation of the thermal and ionization structures including appropriate microphysics. At low densities, the grains do not play any significant rôle in the shock dynamics. At high densities, the ionization fraction is sufficiently low that dust grains are important charge and current carriers and, thus, determine the shock structure. We find that the magnetic field in the shock front has a significant rotation out of the initial upstream plane. This is most pronounced for single-sized grains and small angles of the shock normal with the magnetic field. Our results are similar to previous studies of steady C-type shocks showing that our method is efficient, rigorous and robust. Unlike the method employed in the previous most detailed treatment of dust in steady oblique fast-mode shocks, ours allow a reliable calculation even when chemical or other conditions deviate from local statistical equilibrium. We are also able to model transient phenomena.     

Lofted charged dust distribution above the Moon surface

We developed kinetic theory for the charging processes of small dust grains near the lunar surface due to interaction with the anisotropic solar wind plasma. Once charged, these dust grains, which are exposed to the electric field in the sheath region near the lunar surface, could loft and distribute around such heights off the surface where they reach equilibrium with the local gravitational force. Analytical solutions were derived for the charging time, grain floating potential, and grain charge, characterizing the charging processes of small dust grains in a two-component and in a multi-component solar wind plasma, and further highlighting the unique features presented by the high streaming plasma velocity. We have also formulated a novel kinetic theory of sheath formation around an absorbing planar surface immersed in the anisotropic solar wind plasma in the case of a negligible photoelectric effect and presented solutions for the sheath structure. In this study we combined the results from these analyses and provided estimates for the size distribution function of dust that is expected to be lofted in regions dominated by the solar wind plasma, such as near the terminator and in nearby shadowed craters. Corresponding to the two dominant streaming velocity peaks of 300 and 800 km/s, mean dust diameters of 500 and 350 nm, respectively, are expected to be found at equilibrium at heights of relevance to exploration operations, e.g., around 1.5 m height off the lunar surface. In shadowed craters near the terminator region, where isotropic plasma should be dominating, we estimate mean lofted dust diameter of 800 nm around the same 1.5 m height off the lunar surface. The generally applicable solutions could be used to readily calculate the expected lofted size distribution near the lunar surface as a function of plasma parameters, dust grain composition, and other parameters of interest.     

Dynamical behavior of size-graded dust grains levitated in rotating magnetized astroplasmas

Our purpose is to examine the formation of different sheaths in rotating astroplasmas embedded in an ambient magnetic field. Sequel to our recent work (Das and Chakraborty in Astrophys. Space Sci., 2011) we remodeled our present study with the view to finding of robust sheath over the Earth’s Moon along with the formation of dust clouds therein. Based on using the pseudopotential analysis, a modified Sagdeev potential equation has been derived, which, in turns, quantifies the interaction of Coriolis force and magnetic field and to derive the different natures of sheath and dust atmosphere. The application of this result to the input numeric data of the lunar environment and dynamical behaviors of dust levitation has been studied. Our study finds that the dust particles having a spatial segregation within the sheath region form dust clouds in spaces.     

Dust ion-acoustic shock waves in nonextensive dusty plasma

A parametric survey on the propagation characteristics of the dust ion-acoustic (DIA) shock waves showing the effect of nonextesivity with nonextensive electrons in a dissipative dusty plasma system has been carried out using the reductive perturbation technique. We have considered continuity and momentum equations for inertial ions, q-distributed nonextensive electrons, and stationary charged dust grains, to derive the Burgers equation. It has been found that the basic features of DIA shock waves are significantly modified by the effects of electron nonextensivity and ion kinematic viscosity. Depending on the degree of nonextensivity of electrons, the dust ion-acoustic shock structures exhibit compression and rarefaction. The implications of our results would be useful to understand some astrophysical and cosmological scenarios like stellar polytropes, hadronic matter and quark-gluon plasma, protoneutron stars, dark-matter halos, etc., where effects of nonextensivity can play the significant roles.     

Evolution of ion-acoustic solitary waves in magnetized plasma contaminated with varying dust charged grains

Propagation of plasma-acoustic wave has been studied in magnetized plasma contaminated with dust charged grains. It has shown that, because of the configuration of magnetized plasma contaminated with dust charge fluctuation, pseudopotential method fails to derive nonlinear wave equation. We thus exercise an alternate approach to yield wave equation in the form of Sagdeev-like potential equation which enables the success to study the nonlinear waves. Again a modified mathematical formalism known as tanh-method has the merit to evaluate the soliton features in relation to its expectation in space. The method has its success in finding the solitary waves along with other exciting formation of shock-like wave, soliton radiation in soliton propagation. The results have more realistic interpretation in showing explicitly the interaction of magnetic field and impurity caused by dust charge variation.     

Observing the effects of the polarization force in strongly coupled dusty plasmas with suprathermal electrons

Our objective here is to investigate a strongly coupled dusty plasma system with the presence of polarization force (PF). This plasma consists of superthermal electrons, Maxwellian ions, and negatively charged dust grains. The nonlinear propagation of dust-acoustic (DA) waves in such dusty plasma system has been theoretically investigated by employing the reductive perturbation method. The Burgers’ and K-dV equations have been derived to and numerically analyzed. It has been found that the dust-acoustic shock and solitary waves exist associated with a negative potential only, and that the effect of the dust fluid temperature significantly modifies the basic properties (amplitude and width) of such nonlinear waves’ potential structures. We hope that the results of our present investigation should help us in understanding the localized electrostatic disturbances in space and laboratory strongly coupled dusty plasmas with superthermal electrons and polarization force.     

Electrostatic solitary structures in a four-component adiabatic dusty plasma

A theoretical investigation has been made of propagating electrostatic waves in a four-component adiabatic dusty plasma, whose constituents are adiabatic electrons, adiabatic ions, adiabatic positively and as well as negatively charged warm dust. The basic features of the solitary structures in such a four-component adiabatic dusty plasma are studied by the reductive perturbation method. It is found that the presence of the positive dust component does not only significantly modify the basic properties of the solitary waves, but also causes the existence of the positive solitary potential structures, which is an interesting feature shown in an adiabatic dusty plasma with the dust of opposite polarity. It is also observed that the basic properties (polarity, speed, amplitude and width) of the DA SWs are significantly modified by the effects of adiabaticity (γ>1) of electrons, ions, negatively as well as positively charged warm dust. The present investigation can be of relevance to the electrostatic solitary structures observed in various dusty space plasma environments (viz. cometary tails, upper mesosphere, Jupiter’s magnetosphere, etc.).     

Arbitrary amplitude dust acoustic solitary waves in an electron-depleted dusty plasma with two high energy-tail ion distributions

Arbitrary amplitude dust acoustic waves (DAW’s) in two high energy-tail ion distributions are investigated. The electron number density has been assumed sufficiently depleted during the charging of the dust grains, on account of the attachment of the background plasma electrons on the surface of the dust grains. Our results reveal that under certain conditions, DA solitary waves with either negative or positive potential may be admitted. The high degree of suprathermalization of the relatively low temperature ion component favors the development of compressive localized structures. This behavior is preserved to a large extent in the small but finite amplitude regime. This means that the presence of additional relatively low temperature suprathermal ions does not only significantly modify the basic properties of DA structures, but also causes the existence of positive solitary potentials. This feature is completely new in a dusty plasma with two suprathermal ion components with widely disparate temperatures. Our results may be relevant to a number of space dusty plasma systems, particularly, the Saturn’s F-ring where electron depletion and suprathermality are thought to come into play.     

Weakly ionized cosmic gas: ionization and characterization

Since collective plasma behavior may determine important transport processes (e.g., plasma diffusion across a magnetic field) in certain cosmic environments, it is important to delineate the parameter space in which weakly ionized cosmic gases may be characterized as plasmas. In this short note, we do so. First, we use values for the ionization fraction given in the literature, wherein the ionization is generally assumed to be due primarily to ionization by cosmic rays. We also discuss an additional mechanism for ionization in such environments, namely, the photoelectric emission of electrons from cosmic dust grains in an interstellar FUV radiation field. Simple estimates suggest that under certain conditions this mechanism may dominate cosmic ray ionization, and possibly also the photoionization of metal atoms by the interstellar FUV field, and thereby lead to an enhanced ionization level.     

Evolution of double layers in magnetised plasmas contaminated with dust charge fluctuations

Coherent structures entailing the existence of double layers have been studied in magnetised plasma contaminated with dust charging fluctuations. It has been shown that the dust charging in magnetic plasma leads to complexity in the derivation of the Sagdeev wave equation, but under way new procedure enable one to study the nature of double layers showing the effective role of the constituents of the plasma. A parametric analysis is a subject of interest in laboratory and space plasmas, and it has been explained with the input of various typical plasma numerics. The proposed mathematical mechanism has shown the success to yield plasma acoustic modes in a dusty plasma which, in turn, has been solved convincingly for double layers. Observations have been evaluated in an appropriate model with a view to agree with the observations in astrophysical problems dealing with present new findings.     

Vortex formation in nonlinearly coupled modes in a magnetized quantum plasma

Linear and nonlinear properties of coupled modes in a magnetized quantum plasma in the presence of electron Fermi pressure are studied in a nonuniform magnetoplasma composed of electrons, ions, and extremely massive and negatively charged immobile dust grains. Stationary solutions of the nonlinear equations that govern the dynamics of coupled modes are presented. It is found that electrostatic dipolar vortex structure can form in such a plasma. The dipolar structures in dense plasmas are observed to be formed on a much shorter scalelength by comparison with their classical counterparts. It is found that the increasing Fermi temperature shortens the scalelength over which the nonlinear coherent structures are formed. The relevance of the present investigation with regard to the dense astrophysical plasmas is also pointed out.     

K-dV and Burgers’ equations on DA waves with strongly coupled dusty plasma

A rigorous theoretical investigation has been made on the nonlinear structures, mainly, dust-acoustic (DA) solitary and shock waves propagating in a strongly coupled dusty plasma consisting of strongly coupled correlated positively and negatively charged inertial cold dust fluid, weakly correlated inertialess Maxwellian electron and ion fluids. The presence of arbitrary (negative and positive) charged dust grains in such a plasma system causes the presence opposite potentials (positive and negative) DA solitary and shock structures and significantly modify it’s basic features. The results obtained from this analysis can be employed in understanding the nature of plasma waves both in laboratory and space plasma system.     

Influence of arbitrarily charged dust and trapped electrons on propagation of localized dust ion-acoustic waves

A theoretical investigation is developed to study the existence, formation and basic properties of arbitrary amplitude dust ion-acoustic solitary potentials in a dusty plasma consisting of warm ions, trapped electrons and immobile negative (positive) dust particles. It is found a definite interval for the Mach number for which solitary waves exist and depend sensitively on the ion temperature and negative (positive) dust concentration. In addition, the effects of ion temperature, two oppositely charged dust species and resonant electrons on the shape of the solitary waves are also investigated extensively. For both cases of negative and positive dust grains, the effect of ion temperature is found to be destructive for the formation of localized structures. Further, the amplitude of the solitary structures decreases (increases) with the increase in the negative (positive) dust concentration.     

Solitary solution and energy for the Kadomstev–Petviashvili equation in two temperatures charged dusty grains

The nonlinear properties of small amplitude dust-acoustic solitary waves (DAWs) in a homogeneous unmagnetized plasma having electrons, singly charged ions, hot and cold dust species with Boltzmann distributions for electrons and ions have been investigated. A reductive perturbation method was employed to obtain the Kadomstev-Petviashvili (KP) equation. The effects of the presence of charged hot and cold dust grains on the nature of DAWs were discussed. Moreover, the energy of two temperatures charged dusty grains were computed. The present investigation can be of relevance to the electrostatic solitary structures observed in various space plasma environments.     

Nonplanar dust ion-acoustic solitary and shock excitations in electronegative plasmas with trapped electrons

It is shown that the three-dimensional cylindrical Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (CKP) and the extended cylindrical Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (ECKP) equations can describe the propagation of nonplanar dust ion-acoustic excitations in a dusty plasma composed of positive ions, negative ions, stationary dust particles, as well as trapped electrons or a small percentage of trapped electrons. It is found that the solution of the CKP equation supports only solitary pulses, while the ECKP equation describes the propagation of both solitary and shock excitations. The effects of physical parameters, namely negative ions density, dust grains density, positive-to-negative mass ratio, direction cosine of the wave propagation on the pulses profile are examined. Furthermore, the existence regions of either localized or shock pulses are investigated. The relevance of nonlinear structures in the Earth’s ionosphere and plasma experiment is discussed.     

Dynamics of dust in a plasma sheath and injection of dust into the plasma sheath above Moon and asteroidal surfaces

We have examined single dust particle dynamics in a plasma sheath near the surface of solid bodies in space, considering conditions which resemble those of planetary system bodies, when photoelectric effect can be neglected. The forces on the dust particles are assumed to be from the electric field in the sheath and from gravitation only. As the dust particles will charge negatively in the sheath, these forces will act in opposite directions and may balance.The charge delay of a moving dust particle is responsible for many of the interesting dynamical properties, and we show that for a stationary plasma, dust motion is unstable to about one Debye length out from the surface of the solid body. This part of the sheath will therefore be devoid of dust particles as they will either fall down, escape completely from the solid body or collect and make damped oscillations at stable positions in the outer part of the sheath. With increasing plasma bulk speed towards the surface, the inner unstable part of the sheath will decrease in thickness.The sources for the dust in the sheath are assumed to be mainly ejecta from meteorites and micrometeorites, but may also, for the smallest solid bodies, be from electrostatic levitation of very small dust particles. We have for different sizes of solid bodies calculated the sizes of ejecta that can be floated in the sheath. For the solar wind plasma, the suspended dust particles range from less than 1 m for the Moon to about 80 m for an asteroid with radius 1 km. These particles create a dust atmosphere.The results in this paper hold when the dust particle density is so low that the charges on the dust particles do not contribute significantly to the total space charge; a higher density will lead to a modification of the sheath.Our calculations show that ejecta below a certain size will be accelerated in the sheath and totally escape from the body even if they have near zero initial vertical velocity, while ejecta above this size will need a much larger velocity to escape. This is especially significant for the small solid bodies (radius of order km and less) which will therefore act as important sources of micronsized dust. This could be of significance for the dust production and the size distribution of dust in planetary ring systems.     

Opposite polarity dusty plasma expansion in Earth’s mesosphere

The self-similar expansion method is applied on the fluid system of equations which describes a plasma system consisting of opposite polarity dust grains, positive ions and electrons. The resultant system of equations is solved numerically to study the properties of the plasma expansion of this system. It is found that the presence of the second species of the dust has a great effect on the properties of the expansion of the other species.     

Ionization mechanisms of cometary comas

A new approach is considered to the problem of ionization of the inner comas of comets connected with two phenomena: meteor-like process due to cometary molecules — interplanetary meteoroids impacts and explosion-type process due to high-velocity collisions between cometary dust grains and interplanetary meteoroids. It is found that the efficiency of explosive ionization exceeds the efficiency of meteor ionization approximately 100 times. The explosive ionization may be possible mechanism for anomaly ionization of the inner comae of dusty comets like Halley 1986 III with the dust to gas production rate ratio more than 0.1.     

Compressive and Rarefactive Dust-acoustic Solitary Structures in a Magnetized Two-ion-temperature Dusty Plasma

A rigorous theoretical investigation has been made of obliquely propagating dust-acoustic solitary structures in a cold magnetized two-ion-temperature dusty plasma consisting of a negatively charged, extremely massive, cold dust fluid and ions of two different temperatures. The reductive perturbation method has been employed to derive the Korteweg-de Vries (K-dV) equation which admits a solitary wave solution for small but finite amplitude limit. It has been shown that the presence of second component of ions modifies the nature of dust-acoustic solitary structures and may allow rarefactive dust-acoustic solitary waves (solitary waves with density dip) to exist in such a dusty plasma system. The effects of obliqueness and external magnetic field on the properties of these dust-acoustic solitary structures are also briefly discussed.