The steady-state, spatially periodic, structures generated by the evolution of the nonlinear stage of recombination instability in dusty plasma of a non-self-sustained discharge are studied. The research has revealed two types of structures typical for this kind of discharge; they differ in the rates of the increment of recombination instability. The features of each type of structure are described, and the mechanism of their formation is presented. It is shown that the calculation results qualitatively and, with a small variation of discharge parameters, quantitatively agree with the experimental data.

The stability of a dusty plasma of low pressure non-self-sustained discharge is studied. It is shown that aperiodic recombination instability can be developed in plasma in a wide wavenumber range. The physical mechanism of instability is discussed. The dependence of conditions of instability development and its increment on discharge parameters is analyzed.

Исследована устойчивость пылевой плазмы несамостоятельного разряда низкого давления. Показано, что в плазме может развиваться в широком диапазоне волновых чисел апериодическая рекомбинационная неустойчивость. Обсуждается физический механизм неустойчивости. Проанализирована зависимость условий развития неустойчивости и ее инкремента от параметров разряда.

Оценены основные параметры несамостоятельного разряда, поддерживаемого пучком протонов, в инертном газе. Разряд используется для исследования пылевых структур в ядерно-возбуждаемой плазме и моделирует ее. Особенностями разряда являются низкое давление газа (порядка 133 Па) и невысокая плотность тока пучка протонов (порядка 10-6 А/см2). Показано, что при достаточно большом отрицательном напряжении (–100 В) в приколлекторной области образуется ловушка для отрицательно заряженных пылевых частиц, формируемая большим отрицательным скачком потенциала в ленгмюровском приэлектродном слое, ширина которого растет при удалении от центра разряда. Рассмотрены возможности создания в несамостоятельном разряде протяженных пылевых структур.

The main parameters of non-self-maintained discharge supported by a proton beam in inert gas are obtained. The discharge is used to study dust structures in nuclear excited plasma. Its main features include low gas pressure (∼133 Pa) and low proton beam current density (∼10−6 A/cm2). It is shown that a trap for negatively charged dust particles is formed in the discharge near-collector area at a sufficiently large negative voltage on the collector (−100 V), which is caused by a large negative potential jump in the Langmuir electrode layer whose width increases with distance from the center of the discharge. The possibility of generating stretched dust structures in non-self-maintained discharge is considered.

A model of a corona discharge in a nuclear excited dust plasma at the pressures of 1–100 atm is proposed. The distributions of the electric field and current-voltage characteristics of a corona discharge in a nuclear-excited dust plasma are found for a particular cylindrical geometry case at different methods of corona-producing electrode positioning. The conditions for the existence of a stationary corona discharge are obtained. A mathematical model describing the behavior of dust particles in a nuclear plasma that allows taking into account the key physical processes occurring in a nuclear-excited dust plasma is considered. The analyzed plasma properties are as follows: (1) shielding of the Coulomb forces of the interaction between dust particles, (2) the energy exchange and the stochastic character of the dust particle interaction with a buffer gas and ambient plasma, and (3) strong spatial inhomogeneity of the nuclear-excited plasma. The use of a corona discharge in a nuclear-excited plasma will make it possible to ensure stability of plasma-dust structures and more efficient conversion of the nuclear energy into laser radiation.

We considered the possibility of using a corona discharge in a nuclear excited dusty plasma to provide the stability of well ordered dusty plasma structures from a fissionable material and to accomplish a more efficient conversion of nuclear energy into radiation.

The highly ordered levitating structures of radioactive dusty particles in nuclear excited plasma of tube capacitor are studied using the Brownian dynamics. Models with potential and non potential forces acting on charged dusty particles have been investigated. Types and stability of obtained dust particle structures are analyzed at atmospheric pressure and normal conditions. The stationary crystal - like structures have been obtained only for potential forces acting on dusty particles, while in model with non potential forces the formation of two slowly rotating in opposite direction highly ordered vortices has been predicted. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim