Torus-shaped dust clouds trapped in a magnetized anodic plasma

Abstract

Dust particles confined in a magnetized anodic plasma can form a torus-shaped cloud with a dust-free region (void) in the center. Most of the dust particles perform a rotational motion about the major axis of the torus. The torus-shaped dust cloud and the velocity of the particles are studied by varying the external plasma parameters like magnetic field strength and rf-power of the source plasma. Two-dimensional potential contours are measured with an emissive probe. The results are used to discuss the force balance between electric field force and ion drag acting on the dust particles that determines the void size.