Microdynamics of dusty plasma liquids in narrow channel: from disorder to order

Abstract

We report direct observations on the microscopic dynamics of dusty plasma liquid confined in a narrow gap. We measure the horizontal and transverse displacement histograms as well as the transverse particle density distributions from particle trajectories. Under confinement, the liquid forms a layer structure. The dust particle motion at boundaries show anisotropy and three outermost layers is found due to the pinching effect of the boundaries. When the gap width is reduced to below 7d (d = inter-layer width), the dust particle motion in the central region shows a transition from isotropic motion to anisotropic discrete hopping motion, leading to a slower dynamics and layer structure through the whole liquid.