Investigations of spatio-temporal behavior of quasi-stable filamentary structures in the Magnetized Dusty Plasma eXperiment (MDPX) using image analysis techniques

For high enough magnetic fields (B > 0.5 T), experiments in the Magnetized Dusty Plasma

eXperiment (MDPX) at Auburn University - a capacitively coupled, low-temperature plasma

device at Auburn University - have shown the presence of filamentary structures (filaments),

which appear as bright regions in the plasma, elongated along the external magnetic field.

Controlled changes in experimental parameters such as the magnetic field, pressure, rf power,

and the gas type result in unique morphologies, varying from circular to multiple (2 - 5) arm

spiral-like filaments. Additionally, complex dynamics occur, including translation and rotational

motion of individual filaments, transformation of filaments between various morphologies,

formation and destruction of filaments etc. This poster gives an overview of the steps towards

understanding filament dynamics, through the analysis of several expanding, hollow cylinder-

shaped filaments exhibiting quasi-periodic lifetimes. We also investigate other interesting

phenomena such as background plasma turbulence, filaments emerging from elongated zonal

flow like structures and morphological changes (such as a 3-armed spiral transforming to a 2-

armed spiral) of filaments.