Buckling of Two-Dimensional Dusty Plasma Under Shock Compression*

A shock was created in a two-dimensional (2D) dusty plasma consisting of monodisperse microparticles suspended in a sheath of radio-frequency discharge. The shock was mechanically excited by moving a thin wire parallel to the 2D microparticle cloud at supersonic speed. The out-of-plane motion of the microparticles, known as buckling, was observed in the region of shock compression. The conditions for the onset of the buckling were investigated.