Dusty plasmas: Experiments on nonlinear dust acoustic waves, shocks, and structures

A review is presented of recent experiments performed on the University of Iowa DC discharge dusty plasma device on various aspects of dust acoustic waves. A brief introduction to the physics of dusty plasmas and the dust acoustic wave is first presented. Three experiments are then described: (i) observation and interpretation of large amplitude (nonlinear) dust acoustic waves; (ii) evolution of large amplitude dust acoustic waves into shocks, and comparison to numerical shock solutions of the generalized hydrodynamic equations; and (iii) the spontaneous formation of stationary, stable dust structures in a moderately coupled dusty plasma (dust structurization). 1 Present address: Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM