Vertical oscillations of paramagnetic particles in complex plasmas.

Abstract

Vertical vibrations of a single magnetized dust grain and a one-dimensional string of magnetized particles in discharge plasmas are treated taking into account the magnetic force associated with gradients of an external magnetic field. For a single particle a novel type of oscillation associated with these gradients is found. Such vibrations can be stable or unstable depending on the distribution of the magnetic field inside the particle cloud. In a one-dimensional particle string the magnetic force causes a new low-frequency oscillatory mode which is characterized by inverse optical-like dispersion when the wavelength far exceeds the intergrain distance. The study of vertical vibrations of magnetized grains provides a tool for determining complex plasma parameters.