Measurement of the Kinetic Dust Temperature of a Weakly-Coupled Dusty Plasma

Over the past 5 years, two-dimensional particle image velocimetry techniques have been used to obtain detailed measurements of microparticle transport in dusty plasma. Recently, the Auburn Plasma Sciences Laboratory has extended these techniques to a three-dimensional velocity vector measurement using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (stereo-PIV). In this paper, we discuss the use of the stereo-PIV technique for determining the velocity space distribution function of the microparticle component of a dc glow discharge dusty plasma. These distribution functions are then used to make measurements of the kinetic temperature of the dust component. Preliminary results show that the temperature of the dust component is significantly larger than the other plasma components (electrons, ions and background neutrals)