Driving force for a nonequilibrium phase transition in three-dimensional complex plasmas

Abstract

An example of the non-equilibrium phase transition is the formation of lanes when one kind of particle is driven against the other. According to experimental observation, lane formation in binary complex plasmas occurs when the smaller particles are driven through the stationary dust cloud of the larger particles. We calculate the driving force acting on a probe particle that finds itself in a quiescent cloud of particles in complex plasma of the low-pressure radio frequency discharge under microgravity conditions. It is shown that the nonzero driving force is a result of the dependence of the ion mean free path on the particle number density. If this effect is properly included in the model of similar complex plasmas, then one arrives at the driving force that changes its sign at the point where the probe and the dust particles have equal radii. If the probe is smaller than the dust particle, then the driving force is directed toward the discharge center and vice versa, in accordance with the experiment. The obtained results can serve as the ansatz for future investigation of the lane formation in complex plasmas.