Modified gravitational instability of degenerate and non-degenerate dusty plasma

Abstract

The gravitational instability of strongly coupled dusty plasma (SCDP) is studied considering degenerate and non-degenerate dusty plasma situations. The SCDP system is assumed to be composed of the electrons, ions, neutrals, and strongly coupled dust grains. First, in the high density regime, due to small interparticle distance, the electrons are considered degenerate, whereas the neutrals, dust grains, and ions are treated non-degenerate. In this case, the dynamics of inertialess electrons are managed by Fermi pressure and Bohm potential, while the inertialess ions are by only thermal pressure. Second, in the non-degenerate regime, both the electrons and ions are governed by the thermal pressure. The generalized hydrodynamic model and the normal mode analysis technique are employed to examine the low frequency waves and gravitational instability in both degenerate and non-degenerate cases. The general dispersion relation is discussed for a characteristic timescale which provides two regimes of frequency, i.e., hydrodynamic regime and kinetic regime. Analytical solutions reveal that the collisions reduce the growth rate and have a strong impact on structure formation in both degenerate and non-degenerate circumstances. Numerical estimation on the basis of observed parameters for the degenerate and non-degenerate cases is presented to show the effects of dust-neutral collisions and dust effective velocity in the presence of polarization force. The values of Jeans length and Jeans mass have been estimated for degenerate white dwarfs as Jeans length LJ=1.3×105 cm and Jeans mass MJ=0.75×10−3M⊙ and for non-degenerate laboratory plasma Jeans length LJ=6.86×1016 cm and Jeans mass MJ=0.68×1010M⊙. The stability of the SCDP system is discussed using the Routh-Hurwitz criterion.