Phonon Spectrum in a Plasma Crystal

S. Nunomura; J. Goree; S. Hu; X. Wang; A. Bhattacharjee; K. Avinash

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.035001

Phonon Spectrum in a Plasma Crystal

S. Nunomura, J. Goree, S. Hu, X. Wang, A. Bhattacharjee, and K. Avinash

Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 035001 – Published 25 June 2002

Abstract

The Fourier spectra of longitudinal and transverse waves corresponding to random particle motion were measured in a two-dimensional plasma crystal. The crystal was composed of negatively charged microspheres immersed in a plasma at a low gas pressure. The phonons were found to obey a dispersion relation that assumes a Yukawa interparticle potential. The crystal was in a nonthermal equilibrium, nevertheless phonon energies were almost equally distributed with respect to wave number over the entire first Brillouin zone.

Received 27 February 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.035001

Authors & Affiliations

S. Nunomura^*, J. Goree^†, S. Hu, X. Wang^‡, A. Bhattacharjee, and K. Avinash^§

Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242

^*Present address: Max-Plank-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, D-85740 Garching, Germany.
^†Email address: john-goree@uiowa.edu
^‡Permanent address: Department of Physics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China 116024.
^§Permanent address: Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinager 282428, India.