Structural Behavior of Dust Suspended in a Low-Temperature Plasma Compression Experiment

Complex (dusty) plasmas – suspensions of charged micron-scale particles in a partially ionized gas – serve as model soft-matter systems that exhibit liquid-, glass-, and crystal-like phases. The dust particles interact through screened Coulomb potentials, producing collective behaviors analogous to those in colloids and liquid crystals. In these systems, individual dust particles can be directly tracked, allowing analysis of structure formation and phase transitions from individual particle positions and velocities. In microgravity environments, sedimentation is eliminated, allowing access to large, three-dimensional, coupled systems with tunable electrostatic interactions.

The next generation microgravity Complex Plasma Facility (COMPACT) is a multipurpose and multi-user facility the extends earlier studies by enabling precise volumetric control of the plasma environment. Here we present preliminary results showing system evolution of a large dust cloud by looking at a cross section of ~20,000 particles undergoing a liquid to solid phase transition induced by controlled compression. These findings highlight the potential of dusty plasma as a versatile, macroscopic platform for studying soft matter and non-equilibrium self-organization.