Bochum 2002 – scientific programme
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P: Plasmaphysik
P 20: Theorie, grundlegende Probleme
P 20.4: Talk
Thursday, March 21, 2002, 14:45–15:00, HZO 70
Direct numerical simulations of Yukawa systems by particle-in-cell methods — •Wolf-Christian Müller1,2, Andreas Zeiler1,2, and Gregor E. Morfill1,3 — 1Centre for Interdisciplinary Plasma Science — 2Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, 85748 Garching — 3Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, 85740 Garching
A self-consistent three-dimensional numerical model of complex plasmas containing dust particles of micrometer size is discussed. The large difference in dynamical time-scales of dust particles and electrons/ions allows to treat the surrounding plasma response to the charged particulates in the linearized Debye-Hückel approximation. The resulting Yukawa system represents a simple approach to studying the dynamics of plasma crystallization, wave propagation and thermodynamic properties in complex plasmas. To reach dust-particle numbers beyond the limits of the molecular dynamics technique, an efficient parallel particle-in-cell (PIC) code has been developed, allowing for realizations with up to one billion interacting particles. We present studies of the Yukawa system, in particular the transition between liquid and solid phase, the general properties of the forming plasma crystal and the influence of dissipation modeling, comparing PIC to molecular dynamics simulations.