Ion wake effects on the Coulomb ion drag in complex dusty plasmas

Abstract

The ion wake effects on the Coulomb drag force are investigated in complex dusty plasmas. It is shown that the ion wake effects significantly enhance the Coulomb ion drag force. It is also found that the ion wake effects on the Coulomb drag force increase with an increase in the Debye length. In addition, the ion wake effects on the momentum transfer cross section and Coulomb drag force are found to be increased with increasing thermal Mach number, i.e., decreasing plasma temperature. It is also found that the Coulomb ion drag force would be stronger for smaller dust grains. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3488816]