Particle Interaction With Afterglow Plasma and Non-Quasi-Neutral Plasma

Small solid particles, when immersed in an ionized gas, undergo electrical charging and interactions that have been investigated for a few decades already as a topic for dusty plasma (which is also known as complex plasma). Theories, until now, have been developed mainly for plasmas that are steady and quasi-neutral, and these theories explain and predict the relevant processes relatively well. Recent experiments, however, have revealed that particles charge differently in situations where the plasma is not quasi-neutral; these include pulsed plasmas, an afterglow plasma after the sustaining power is extinguished, and a plasma that expands or flows into a region where the Debye length exceeds the confinement length scale. Research areas of interest include plasma physics, aerosol science, and astrophysics. There are practical applications for nanoparticle synthesis, for particulate mitigation in the semiconductor industry as well as for space exploration, and for air pollution monitoring and control.

The aim of this Research Topic is to collect Original Research articles, (Mini) Review articles and Technology and Code reports that highlight and relate the most recent advances in the field of particle interaction with afterglow plasma and with non-quasi-neutral plasma, and that indicate knowledge gaps that need to be overcome in order to significantly advance the field.

The scope of this Research Topic is focused around theoretical, experimental and numerical work on plasma charging and plasma-particle interaction in afterglow plasma and non-quasi-neutral plasma and its applications. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Particle charging

• Plasma-particle interaction

• Mutual particle interactions

• Numerical and diagnostic tools

• Applications of non-quasi-neutral plasma that contain particles

Photo credit: Bart van Overbeeke Fotografie

Prof. John Goree is co-inventor in a recent University of Colorado patent application related to using electron beams to clean dust from surfaces by charging the dust, and is also a consultant to a private company, Space Dust Research & Technologies LLC, which intends to develop that method as part of a contract for NASA. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.

Keywords: plasma, particle, dusty plasma, complex plasma, fine-particle plasma, particulate, nanoparticle, charging, afterglow plasma, non-neutral plasma, non-quasi-neutral plasma, charge separation, electric field

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.