Observation of Ion-Acoustic Shocks in a Dusty Plasma

Abstract

Linear and nonlinear dust ion-acoustic waves are studied experimentally in a homogeneous unmagnetized dusty plasma. In the linear regime, the phase velocity of the wave increases and the wave suffers heavy damping with increasing dust density. An oscillatory ion-acoustic shock wave in usual Ar plasma transforms into a monotonic shock front when it travels through the dusty plasma column. The Korteweg--de Vries--Burgers equation is numerically integrated taking experimental parameters into account, and the results are compared with the experimental findings.