Unstable Plasmoids in Dusty Plasma Experiments

Overview & Synopsis

Low frequency instabilities are easily obtained in dusty plasmas formed using reactive gases or material sputtering. These unstable phenomena can be characterized by complex and impressive features affecting the plasma glow luminosity. In this paper, we report on a particular phase of an instability where moving bright plasma spots are observed in between the electrodes of a capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharge in Krypton. These plasmoids show complex behaviors like mutual interactions consisting in their merging or splitting.