2004/10/14 by Ioannis Kourakis, I. Kourakis, Vassileios Basios +5
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Dust and Plasma Wave Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph) #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/0410095
12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004, Nice (France)
arxiv created 2004/10/14 · openalex publication_date 2004/10/14 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Intrinsic Localized Modes (ILM) (or Discrete Breathers, DB) are localized oscillatory modes known to occur in atomic or molecular chains characterized by coupling and/or on-site potential nonlinearity. Quasi-crystals of charged mesoscopic dust grains (dust lattices), which have been observed since hardly a decade ago, are an exciting paradigm of such a nonlinear chain. In gas-discharge experiments, these crystals are subject to forces due to an externally imposed electric and/or magnetic field(s), which balance(s) gravity at the levitated equilibrium position, as well as to electrostatic inter-grain interaction forces. Despite the profound role of nonlinearity, which may be due to inter-grain coupling, mode- coupling and to the sheath environment, the elucidation of the nonlinear mechanisms governing dust crystals is still in a preliminary stage. This study is devoted to an investigation, from very first principles, of the existence of discrete localized modes in dust layers. Relying on a set of evolution equation for transverse charged grain displacements, we examine the conditions for the existence and sustainance of discrete localized modes and discuss the dependence of their characteristics on intrinsic plasma parameters. In addition, the possibility of DB stabilisation via an external force is discussed.