On the possibility of phase transitions in dusty plasma structures in a glow discharge under the action of a magnetic field

Abstract

The melting of a dusty plasma structure formed in a stratum of a glow discharge caused by application of a magnetic field and its subsequent increase is studied. The images of two-dimensional cross sections of dusty plasma structures previously obtained by the authors are considered. To identify the phase, the correlation functions are calculated and visual comparison with the space lattices of ideal crystals is performed. It is found that, under the conditions of the previous study of the authors, as the magnetic field increases, the phase state of the dusty structure changes from an anisotropic liquidlike (liquid-ice) state to a disordered one. There is a tendency to a change in the type of the space lattice of the structure.