2020/06/30 by V. Nosenko, F. Luoni, A. Kaouk +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevresearch.2.033226
published as Phys. Rev. Research 2, 033226 (2020) · 6 pages, 6 figures
arxiv created 2020/07/27 · arxiv updated 2020/08/19
Active Janus particles suspended in a plasma were studied experimentally. The Janus particles were micron-size plastic microspheres, one half of which was coated with a thin layer of platinum. They were suspended in the plasma sheath of a radio-frequency discharge in argon at low pressure. The Janus particles moved in characteristic looped trajectories suggesting a combination of spinning and circling motion; their interactions led to the emergence of rich dynamics characterized by non-Maxwellian velocity distribution. The particle propulsion mechanism is discussed, the main force driving the particle motion is identified as photophoretic force.