Waves in Dusty Space Plasmas

Download or read book Waves in Dusty Space Plasmas written by Frank Verheest and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2001-11-30 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume a thorough review is given of waves in dusty plasmas, a fascinating new domain combining plasmas and charged dust, two omnipresent ingredients of the Universe. Spokes and braids observed in the rings of Saturn cannot be explained by gravitation alone, but need the presence of charged dust. Other examples abound, as in zodiacal light, noctilucent clouds, comets and molecular clouds. After discussing charging mechanisms, supported by exciting new experiments, and space observations, the book describes extensions of known plasma modes covering the low frequencies typical for charged dust. Mixing detailed theoretical steps with summaries of expert contributions, a systematic multi-species treatment puts the literature in perspective, suitable also for newcomers. Typical complications like fluctuating dust charges, self-gravitational effects, and size distributions are dealt with, before ending with an outlook to future work and open questions. In this way, experts as well as interested newcomers will find a reliable guide, not just a compendium.