Large-Scale Transport of Charged Macroparticles Induced by Dust–Acoustic Solitons

Abstract

We have studied experimentally the oscillatory process in the dusty plasma in the glow discharge stratum. It is shown that the oscillations are induced by the dust–acoustic instability, as a result of which dust–acoustic solitons are excited. The motion of dust particles in the electric field of solitons has been analyzed. It has been established that a soliton leads to a large-scale unidirectional transport of charged particles in the direction of its motion. The experimental results have been interpreted theoretically using the MHD model of the plasma.