Acoustic pulses in dusty plasma 1-ring

Properties of acoustic pulses in a one-dimensional dusty plasma are studied experimentally. Waves are launched by compressing one end of an incomplete 1-ring having $n=65$ particles using a laser for laser pulse durations $\Delta t_{\rm laser} = 0.10$--2.0 s. This procedure excites a large-amplitude compressive pulse which propagates for a significant distance. The wave amplitude increases with $\Delta t_{\rm laser}$ for $\Delta t_{\rm laser}\le0.5$ s and then becomes constant. Velocity perturbations up to $\approx10\%$ of the measured acoustic speed $c = 15.5\pm0.2$ mm/s are observed. However, the acoustic speed is independent of wave amplitude, indicating that nonlinear effects are not significant.