Veloсity Dispersion of Dust Particles Confined in a Sheath

Abstract

Velocity distribution of dust particles localized in a plasma sheath near an electrode was found in a number of experiments. Velocity dispersion indicated that the kinetic temperature of dust grains significantly exceeds the temperature of plasma environment. Consequently, the question arose about the stochastic mechanisms of anomalous heating of grains. We propose the model in which the kinetic energy is due to the significant potential energy that grains have at the moment of their release from the crystalline structure on melting. Stochastic processes only modify the regular motion of dust grains, forming a velocity distribution similar to а Gaussian.