The Bohm sheath criterion in strongly coupled complex plasmas

Abstract

A modification of the classical Bohm sheath criterion is investigated in complex plasmas containing Boltzmann electrons, cold fluid ions and strongly coupled microparticles. Equilibrium is provided by an effective 'temperature' associated with electrostatic interactions between charged grains. Using the small-potential expansion approach of the Sagdeev potential, a significant reduction of the ion Bohm velocity is obtained for complex plasma parameters relevant for experiments. The result is of consequence for all problems involving ion drag on microparticles, including parametric instability, structure formation, wave propagation, etc