Collaborative Research: Physics of Magnetized Dusty Plasmas

等离子体(即带电、电离气体)无处不在。从恒星托儿所到地球电离层，等离子体代表了物质的第四种状态，这是可见宇宙中最常见的物质形式。此外，当带电的微粒物质，如尘埃或冰，进入等离子体环境时，就会形成一种被称为“尘埃”或“复杂”等离子体的现象。在太空中，彗星尾巴或土星环等现象都是尘埃等离子体的例子。在离地球更近的地方，控制等离子体中的颗粒在高科技和微电子制造中非常重要。在天体物理和技术等离子体中，磁场的存在都可以对等离子体的性质产生深远的影响。这项研究项目支持一种新的、最先进的、多用户、超导、高磁设备，以了解强磁化等离子体和磁化尘埃等离子体的基本性质。这项工作的学术价值在于，它将使研究等离子体物理和尘埃等离子体物理的新体制成为可能，而这些新体制在以前的实验中是无法实现的。该项目的主要目标是研究尘埃等离子体的结构、热、电荷和稳定性属性是如何随着系统从未磁化状态通过首先电子、然后是离子、然后是带电微粒磁化的过程而演变的。这项工作的更广泛的影响是实质性的。该项目是美国三所大学(奥本大学、爱荷华大学和加州大学圣地亚哥分校)在尘埃等离子体领域进行领先研究的直接合作。来自这三个组织的研究人员将协调代表大学、国家实验室和国际合作伙伴的广泛的合作者团队。而且，该项目将提供极好的机会，通过培训研究生和本科生，以及与以本科为主的机构中尘封的等离子体研究人员建立伙伴关系，培训下一代等离子体科学家。

Plasmas (i.e., charged, ionized gases) are pervasive. From stellar nurseries to the Earth's ionosphere, plasmas represent a fourth state of matter that is the most common form of matter in the visible universe. Moreover, a phenomenon known as a "dusty" or "complex" plasma is formed when charged particulate matter, such as dust or ices, becomes incorporated in the plasma environment. In space, phenomena such as in comet tails or the rings of Saturn are examples of dusty plasmas. Closer to Earth, control over particulates in plasmas are important in high-technology and microelectronic fabrication. In both astrophysical and technological plasmas, the presence of magnetic fields can have a profound influence on the properties of the plasma. This research project supports a new, state-of-the-art, multi-user, superconducting, high-magnetic device to understand the basic properties of a strongly magnetized plasmas and magnetized dusty plasma. The intellectual merit of this work is that it will enable the study of new regimes of plasma physics and dusty plasma physics that have not been accessible in previous experiments. The main project goal is to investigate how the structural, thermal, charging, and stability properties of a dusty plasma evolve as the system is taken from an unmagnetized state through a progression of regimes where first the electrons, then the ions, and then charged microparticles become magnetized.The broader impact of this work is substantial. This project is a direct collaboration among three US universities (Auburn University, The University of Iowa, and University of California-San Diego) that perform leading research in the field of dusty plasmas. The researchers from these three organizations will coordinate a broad team of collaborators representing universities, national laboratories, and international partners. And, this project will provide excellent opportunities to train the next generation of plasma scientists through the training of graduate and undergraduate students as well as providing partnerships with dusty plasma researchers at predominantly undergraduate institutions.