The onset of rotational motion of dusty plasma structures in strata of a glow discharge in a magnetic field

An interpretation is given to the previously observed action of a magnetic field on the state of a dusty plasma structure in strata of a glow discharge. The conditions of previous experiments are analyzed, in which a nonuniform rotation and a change in the degree of order of a dusty plasma structure (the translational order), as well as a correlation between them, were revealed. Based on this analysis and on data in the literature on dusty plasmas in a magnetic field, a hypothesis is made that the reason for the rotation of the structure is the ion drag force. Additional experiments on the observation of the onset of rotational motion of a structure in “weak” and “strong” magnetic fields are conducted. It is shown that rotation reversal (and rearrangement of the order of the structure) is caused by changes in the direction of ionic flows—from internal regions of the structure to its periphery and vice versa—in the weak and strong magnetic fields. The results obtained agree qualitatively with the hypothesis adopted, as well as with the data of the two-dimensional theory of strata.