Effect of confinement on the crystallization of a dusty plasma in narrow channels

Abstract

Three-dimensional quasi-equilibrium configurations of a complex (dusty) plasma in narrow channels are investigated using the molecular dynamics simulations for various confining potentials (confinements). The dynamics of the microparticles is described within the framework of a Langevin thermostat with allowance for the pair interaction between charged particles, which is described by a screened Coulomb potential (Yukawa potential). Two confinements—the parabolic potential and hard elastic wall—are considered. It is shown that the confinement strongly affects the crystallization and the local order of the microparticles in the system under consideration; in particular, the appearance of a new quasicrystalline phase induced by the hard wall confinement is revealed.