Interaction of Charged Aggregates in a GEC rf Reference Cell

Dust aggregates are formed in a laboratory plasma as monodisperse spheres are accelerated in a self-excited dust density wave. Interactions between pairs of aggregates allow their charge, mass, and gas drag to be inferred. The asymmetric charge on the aggregates causes them to rotate as they interact with each other. Through these interactions, the charge and dipole moment can be estimated and compared to numerical models.