Equilibrium configuration of self-gravitating dusty plasmas

The equilibrium problem of self-gravitating dusty plasma is studied using the three dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The isothermal, spherically symmetric equilibria are constructed which are characterized by three parameters: (i) number of particles in the cloud, (ii) Γ_g(4 π ϵ₀G m²_dIq²_d), where Γg −1 is the short range cutoff of the interparticle potential, and (iii) temperature of the grains. The effects of these parameters on the dust cloud are investigated using radial density profile. The problem of equilibrium also formulated in the mean field limit where total dust pressure (which is the sum of kinetic pressure and electrostatic pressure) balances the self-gravity. The mean field solutions agree well with the results of MD simulations. (author)