2026/08/03 by Wei-Ping Zhang, Wen-Shan Duan
paper · doi:10.1088/1572-9494/ae84ac
crossref created 2026/07/01 · crossref issued 2026/08/03 · crossref published 2026/08/03 · crossref published-online 2026/08/03 · crossref deposited 2026/08/03 · crossref indexed 2026/08/03 · crossref published-print 2026/10/01
Abstract The formation of phonon band gaps is a fundamental feature of many periodic systems with internal structural asymmetry and plays an important role in lattice dynamics and wave propagation. Binary complex plasmas provide a controllable model system for investigating collective excitations under strongly coupled conditions. In this work the phonon band structure of one-dimensional binary complex plasma chains is studied using Langevin dynamics simulations with particular attention to the robustness of phonon band gaps under realistic plasma conditions. While ideal theoretical models predict a clear separation between acoustic and optical branches it remains unclear whether this feature can persist in the presence of thermal fluctuations and dissipation. The present results show that the phonon band gap survives beyond the ideal limit and exhibits systematic variations with particle and plasma parameters. In particular particle size is found to play a key role through its combined influence on particle inertia and electrostatic interactions. These results provide physical insight into collective excitations in strongly coupled systems and demonstrate that complex plasmas offer a useful platform for exploring tunable phononic behavior in ordered many body lattices.