Magnetic field influence on a steady dusty plasma flow*

Dusty plasmas consist of the standard plasma components (electrons, ions and neutrals) as well as micrometer sized particles. The dust particles become highly charged as a result of their interaction with the other plasma components. The charge of these dust particles is a difficult quantity to estimate precisely, especially when influenced by a magnetic field. Because of this difficulty, a method for the experimental determination of the dust particle charge under the influence of a magnetic field is required. In our chosen approach we attempt to utilize the dynamics of a driven dust particle flow perpendicular to a static magnetic field. A dust particle density gradient will build up across the flow due to the Lorentz force. We will demonstrate, using an MD simulation, that studying the particle distribution in the flow, depending on magnetic field and flow velocity, can be used to estimate an average dust particle charge. We plan to apply our method on MDPX at Auburn University.