Fine Grid Adaptation to Study Dynamic Ion Wake Fields

Ion wake fields in complex plasma systems have been observed to cause non-reciprocal reactions between dust grains at sufficiently high ion drift velocities. Multiple experiments in the dusty plasma field, including the PK-4 experiment on the International Space Station (ISS), have provided evidence of these ion wake fields, but the changing dynamic effect of ion wakes as dust configurations evolve are not well understood. In order to understand particle behavior in complex plasma systems, a multi-scale Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation, coupled with a 2D particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo Collisions (PIC/MCC) code, is used to examine the effects of ion wakes on dynamic dust systems. Here we discuss adaptations to this model to included heightened precision in ion-dense areas in order to study the combined potential of the dust and ions as the configuration of the dust changes.