SCREENING OF A CHARGED PARTICLE FIELD IN RAREFIED IONIZED GAS
Smirnov B.M.

Received: November 23, 2009

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A self-consistent field of a charged micron-size particle placed in a rarefied ionized gas is created by both free ions moving along infinite trajectories and trapped ions moving in closed orbits. The character of screening of the particle field is analyzed under dynamic conditions in a nonequilibrium plasma where the temperature (or the mean energy) of electrons greatly exceeds the ion temperature. Under these conditions, trapped ions are generated in a restricted region of the particle field where the transitions between closed ion orbits resulting from resonant charge exchange dominate. This leads to a higher number density of trapped ions compared to that of free ions. The parameters of the self-consistent field of the particle and ions are found when free or trapped ions determine the screening of the particle field, and a similarity law is established for a simultaneous variation of the number density of plasma particles and the particle size. In dusty plasmas of the Solar System, which result from the interaction of the solar wind with dust, formation of trapped ions increases the plasma number density compared to that in the solar wind.