Structure Formation and Diffusion Properties of Non-Equilibrium Microgravity Dusty Plasma

Complex systems, such as biological systems, economies, and social networks, typically operate far from equilibrium, exhibiting strong and nonlocal interactions, self-organization, and anomalous dynamics. Understanding such non-equilibrium conditions is crucial for predicting the behavior and function of complex systems as it drives dynamical processes and enables emergent phenomena that are not possible in equilibrium conditions. Dusty plasmas, or collections of charged macroscopic particles suspended in low temperature plasma, are an ideal test system for the investigation of non-equilibrium phenomena. Here we analyze data from the microgravity dusty plasma experiment, Plasmakristall-4, on board the International Space Station. The dust clouds in these experiments have been shown to exhibit anisotropic structure formation and anomalous diffusion in states far from equilibrium. Structure formation in these experiments is characterized by calculating bond order and pair correlation functions, while diffusion properties and temperature anisotropies are extracted from histograms of particle displacements and velocities. Data is collected from multiple experiments. Some focus on compression and relaxation of the dust cloud, while others focus on different heating and cooling mechanisms.