CAREER:Investigation of the Thermal and Transport Properties of a Dusty Plasma

复合（尘埃）等离子体是由离子、电子、中性粒子和带电微粒组成的四组分等离子体系统。微粒组分与其他等离子体组分相互作用，获得净电荷并自洽地改变周围的等离子体介质。由此产生的系统明显比传统的等离子体复杂，支持广泛的物理现象，并与纳米科学、流体力学和材料科学联系在一起。因此，在过去的二十年里，这个领域迅速发展成为等离子体物理学的一个科学上有趣和技术上具有挑战性的分支领域。本研究的目的是详细测量含尘等离子体的热能分布和热输运性质的演变，以解决含尘等离子体领域的一些悬而未决的问题。这将通过使用下一代粒子图像测速（PIV）诊断、层析PIV和高速成像技术来完成。该项目的结果将在动力学水平上为尘埃等离子体系统的热学和输运特性提供新的和基本的见解。特别是，该项目将提供尘埃热能分布的详细测量，这些能量如何在尘埃等离子体系统内重新分配，并将有助于这些系统的状态方程的发展。该项目将为这些系统的三维形态特征提供新的见解，例如尘埃声波的结构，并解决涉及中性阻力强度的开放现象学问题。此外，该项目将作为一个跳板，通过直接参与正在进行的研究工作，通过学生参加区域和国家专业会议，以及通过在本科课程的各个层次开发适合水平的课程材料，使小型文科本科院校的本科生参与尖端等离子科学研究。

A complex (dusty) plasma is a four-component plasma system consisting of ions, electrons, neutral particles and charged microparticles. The microparticle component interacts with the other plasma components, acquires a net charge and self-consistently modifies the surrounding plasma medium. The resulting system is notably more complex than the traditional plasma, supporting a wide range of physical phenomena and having connections to nanoscience, fluid mechanics and material science. As a result, this field has, over the past twenty years, rapidly evolved into a scientifically interesting and technically challenging subfield of plasma physics. The objective of this research is to make detailed measurements of the distribution of thermal energy and the evolutions of the thermal and transport properties of a dusty plasma to address a number of open questions in the field of dusty plasmas. This will be accomplished through the use of the next generation particle image velocimetry (PIV) diagnostic, tomographic PIV, and high-speed imaging techniques.The results of this project will provide new and fundamental insight into the thermal and transport properties of the dusty plasma system at the kinetic level. In particular, this project will provide detailed measurements of the distribution of the dust thermal energy, how this energy is redistributed within the dusty plasma system and will contribute to the development of an equation of state for these systems. This project will provide new insight into the three-dimensional morphological features of these systems, such as the structure of the dust acoustic wave, and address open phenomenological questions involving the strength of the neutral drag force. Further, this project will serve as a springboard to involve undergraduates at small, liberal arts undergraduate institution in cutting-edge plasma science research through direct involvement in ongoing research efforts, through student attendance at regional and national professional meetings and through the development of level-appropriate curricular material at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum.