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The theoretical and experimental results on plasma currents induced by acoustic-type solitons are generalized. Ion, electron, and dust-acoustic modes in plasma without magnetic field are considered in detail. It is shown that the generation of pulsed plasma currents with a significant direct component is an inherent property of solitons. The basic properties of soliton currents are established.

The action of the light pressure force on a bounded region of a 2D system of dust macroparticles is simulated using the molecular dynamics method. The dynamics of dust macroparticles in the quasi-2D structure (trajectories of particles, their mean square displacement, and kinetic energy) is analyzed for various values of the nonideality parameter and laser radiation power. It is shown that by varying the radiation power, it is possible to influence the self-diffusion processes and the value of chaotic velocity of particles. Analysis is performed for different initial values of the nonideality parameter of the unperturbed dust subsystem. It is found that the interparticle interaction results in an increase in the kinetic energy of particles in the region of action, as well as beyond it.

An experimental study of the cavitation flow around the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0012 hydrofoil with different surface morphology was carried out in this work. The surface morphology was set by modern laser ablation technology. The average values and intensity of vapor–gas cavities were determined. It has been revealed that laser texturing delays the emerging cavitation and somewhat decreases its intensity at higher cavitation numbers. A decrease in the cavitation number leads to an increase in its intensity for a smooth hydrofoil in comparison with a rough one, which is also expressed in an increase in the frequency of cavities. The paper presents a comparison of the flow regime with equal cavitation numbers, which clearly describes the features of the development of a vapor–gas cavity on the suction side of the foil with different surface morphologies. The paper provides an explanation of the reasons for the influence of surface morphology on the development of cavities.

Complex structures, consisting of a large number of interacting subsystems, have the ability to self-organize and evolve, when the scattering of energy coming from the outside ensures the maintenance of stationary ordered structures with an entropy less than the equilibrium entropy. One of the fundamental problems here is the role of quantum phenomena in the evolution of macroscopic objects. We provide experimental evidence for the active Brownian motion and evolution of structures driven by quantum effects for micron-sized grains levitating in superfluid helium. The active Brownian motion of grains was induced by quantum turbulence during the absorption of laser irradiation by grains. The intensity of Brownian motion associated with quantum vortices increased by 6–7 orders of magnitude compared to the values from the Einstein formula. We observed the grain structures in a state far from thermodynamic equilibrium and their evolution to more complex organized structures with lower entropy due to the quantum mechanism of exceedingly high entropy loss in superfluid helium.

Using the modified method of Brownian dynamics, the dynamics of macroparticles with a uniform metal coating in a plasma-dust monolayer under the action of laser radiation was simulated. The time dependences of the root-mean-square and average linear displacements of particles were calculated for different initial effective parameters of nonideality and different intensities of laser radiation. A relationship was established that connects the effective parameter of nonideality of the dusty plasma system of active particles with the maximum value of the mean linear displacement of particles.

The results of a study on particles’ surfaces after being exposed to the near-electrode region of a radio frequency (RF) discharge are presented. It was experimentally displayed that metal starts being deposited on the surface of particles levitating above the lower electrode of the discharge chamber after switching the RF discharge on. For melamine-formaldehyde (MF) particles, the appearance of an island metal coating is observed after 30 min of plasma exposure. Eroded electrodes and elements of the gas discharge chamber may serve as a source of deposited material. In addition, an analysis of the surface and composition of particles placed on the upper electrode after 6 h of plasma exposure is presented. We reveal that the composition and structure of the particle coating changes during the experiment. The MF particles under exposure become eroded, and needle-like structures containing metals are formed on their surface. We also observe the formation of columnar structures from the products of erosion of electrodes on particles with a metal coating.

Studies of dusty plasma have been actively carried out for about a quarter of a century in many laboratories on Earth, and on board the International Space Station under microgravity conditions. At present, a new experiment is being prepared. We describe the goals and objectives of the experiment, its features and differences from previous experiments, explain the need for it in microgravity. The objective of the experiment is to study the evolution of the open dissipative systems of strongly interacting macroparticles in a gas-discharge plasma, to obtain data on phase transitions and dynamics of active Brownian particles and dynamics of defects and dislocations in plasma-dust structures. Key words: dusty plasma, microgravity, cosmic experiment, open thermodynamic systems, active Brownian particles

We present a detailed analysis of experimental study, which shows clear evidence of a two-stage melting process of a quasi-two-dimensional dusty plasma system in a high-frequency gas discharge. We accurately calculated global parameters of the orientational and translational order, as well as their susceptibilities to determine two critical points, related to “solid-to-hexatic” and “hexatic-to-liquid” phase transitions. The nature of the emerging defects and changes in their mutual concentration, in addition to the estimate of core energy of free dislocations also counts in favor of the formation of an intermediate hexatic phase. These results are fully consistent with the Berezinsky–Kosterlitz–Thouless theory.

Experimental data on the active Brownian motion of single particles in the RF (radio-frequency) discharge plasma under the influence of thermophoretic force, induced by laser radiation, depending on the material and type of surface of the particle, are presented. Unlike passive Brownian particles, active Brownian particles, also known as micro-swimmers, move directionally. It was shown that different dust particles in gas discharge plasma can convert the energy of a surrounding medium (laser radiation) into the kinetic energy of motion. The movement of the active particle is a superposition of chaotic motion and self-propulsion.

We present the results of an experimental study of the behavior of a colloidal plasma system formed by copper-coated and uncoated polymer particles under the action of laser irradiation. A comparative study of particle velocity distribution profiles depending on the power of the pushing laser was conducted. In the case of uncoated melamine-formaldehyde (MF) particles, we observed the well-known action of light pressure, causing shear stress in the colloidal plasma structure and leading to the occurrence of a laminar flow within the affected area. For the copper-coated MF particles, we revealed some additional patterns of behavior for the dust particles, i.e., kinetic temperature growth due to laser radiation absorption by the copper coating, as well as the appearance of chaotic particle motion. We believe that this happens due to the existence of defects in the coating, causing asymmetric heating of the particles, which in turn leads to chaotic deviations of the photophoretic force pushing the particles in different directions.

A new experimental setup for studying various phenomena in both cryogenic helium plasma and dusty plasma structures in a low-pressure gas discharge within the temperature range of 1.6–300 K is described. The setup is equipped with a modern data-acquisition system and high-speed video cameras to observe processes in dusty plasma structures. For the first time, dusty plasma structures were observed and studied at temperatures below 4 К.

We have studied experimentally the oscillatory process in the dusty plasma in the glow discharge stratum. It is shown that the oscillations are induced by the dust–acoustic instability, as a result of which dust–acoustic solitons are excited. The motion of dust particles in the electric field of solitons has been analyzed. It has been established that a soliton leads to a large-scale unidirectional transport of charged particles in the direction of its motion. The experimental results have been interpreted theoretically using the MHD model of the plasma.

We report on the results of analysis of the mean kinetic energy and the pair correlation function of polymer particles in a plasma–dust structure under the action of laser radiation. We have observed experimentally the crystal–liquid phase transition in the monolayer of particles levitating in the near-electrode layer of a capacitive high-frequency discharge. The coupling parameter of the dust system has been estimated. The results of analysis of the modification of the polymer dust particle surface after holding in the plasma are considered. We propose an explanation of the phase transition taking into account the role of the photophoretic force in the motion of macroparticles. The effect of the photophoretic force is associated with the modification of the dust particle surface in the plasma, as a result of which the particles can effectively absorb laser radiation.

The dusty plasma structures in a glow discharge of helium in a tube cooled by superfluid helium at a temperature of 1.6 K and higher have been studied experimentally. The bimodal dust plasma formed by clouds of polydisperse cerium dioxide particles and polymer nanoparticles has been analyzed. We have observed wave oscillations in the cloud of polymer nanoparticles (with a size up to 100 nm), which existed in a narrow temperature range from 1.6 to 2.17 K. Vortices have been observed in the dusty plasma structures at helium temperatures.

Experimental results on dust-acoustic wave study in a weakly coupled cryogenic dusty plasma within the DC glow discharge are discussed. Analysis of dust particle trajectories, their velocity distributions, and the pair correlation function allows us to conclude that the 3D dusty plasma structure studied at T = 83 K was most likely a gaseous structure.

The effect of a dc electric field on strongly nonideal Coulomb systems consisting of a large number (~104) of charged diamagnetic dust particles in a cusp magnetic trap are carried out aboard the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) within the Coulomb Crystal experiment. Graphite particles of 100–400 μm in size are used in the experiments. Coulomb scatter of a dust cluster and the formation of threadlike chains of dust particles are observed experimentally. The processes observed are simulated by the molecular dynamics (MD) method.

There is a variety of cases in nature when the action–reaction symmetry is broken. In particular, suitable conditions for this are realized in colloidal suspensions and complex plasmas. Since the first theories and simulations of the nonreciprocal effective interactions between microparticles in complex plasmas were published in 1995–1996, there have been hundreds of studies in the theoretical development of this theme. However, despite such a rich theoretical background, one of the important unsolved problems is a direct experimental determination of the nonreciprocal interparticle interaction forces. Here, we studied experimentally in detail the forces of the nonreciprocal effective interaction between microparticles suspended a radio-frequency produced plasma sheath. For this purpose, an experimental method based on an analysis of the spectral density of random processes in an open dissipative two-particle system was developed. In contrast to previous investigations, the proposed method takes into account random and dissipative processes in the system, does not require a special design of the experimental setup and any external perturbations, pre-measurements of external fields and any assumptions about the type of interaction. We found that even small charge changes of one particle, caused by its thermal motion in a wake field of another particle, can lead to a significant change in the effective (measurable) interaction between the particles.

A multimodal dusty plasma formed in a positive column of the direct current glow discharge at superfluid helium temperatures has been studied for the first time. Formation of a liquid-like dusty plasma structure occurred after injection of polydisperse cerium oxide particles in the glow discharge. The coupling parameter ~10 determined for the dusty plasma structure corresponds very well to its liquid-like type. The cloud of nanoparticles and non-linear waves within the cloud were observed at T 6е, levitating in the gas discharge at the temperature ~2 K and pressure 4 Pa have been observed for the first time. Analysis of the experimental conditions and the filament composition allows us to conclude that the filaments and nanoclusters were formed due to ion sputtering of dielectric material during the experiments.

Properties of weakly dissipative dust-acoustic solitons are analyzed on the basis of the hydrodynamic and single-particle approximation (Lagrangian–Euler approach). Significant differences between dissipative and conservative solitons are found. Particle-wave microdynamic parameters such as trajectories, phase trajectories, and drift velocity of dust particles under the action of a cascade of solitons are calculated. It is shown that dissipation is responsible for the interconnection of solitons in the ensemble. In addition, dissipative solitons significantly affect the environment comparing with conservative ones. The heat release processes that determine the production of entropy are analyzed. The role of dissipation in the ordering of charged particles trajectories is revealed. The theoretical results are in a reasonable agreement with known experimental data.

The results of experimental and numerical analysis are presented for phase transitions in strongly nonequilibrium small systems of strongly interacting Brownian particles. The dynamic entropy method is applied to analysis of the state of these systems. Experiments are carried out with kinetic heating of the structures of micron-size particles in a laboratory rf discharge plasma. Three phase states of these small systems are observed: crystalline, liquid, and transient. The mechanism of phase transitions in cluster structures of strongly interacting particles is described.

Complex (dusty) plasmas of micron-sized CeO2 polydisperse particles in dc glow discharges at 77 and ∼ 10 K were experimentally investigated. It was obtained that dust structure in cryogenic gas discharge plasma can be a mixture of two fractions (components) with completely different dust ordering and dynamics. We observed under some specific conditions that fast-moving particles of one component diffuse through another component consisted of dust particles arranged in linear chains (strings). From experimental data analysis particle velocity distribution functions for each dust component were obtained. The possible nature of two-component dust structure formation was discussed. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Electrically charged (up to 107e) macroscopic superconducting particles with sizes in the micrometer range confined in a static magnetic trap in liquid nitrogen and in nitrogen vapor at temperatures of 77–91 K are observed experimentally. The macroparticles with sizes up to 60 μm levitate in a nonuniform static magnetic field B ~ 2500 G. The formation of strongly correlated structures comprising as many as ~103 particles is reported. The average particle distance in these structures amounts to 475 μm. The coupling parameter and the Lindemann parameter of these structures are estimated to be ~107 and ~0.03, respectively, which is characteristic of strongly correlated crystalline or glasslike structures.

Effects of microwave argon non-thermal plasma (NTP) on the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes were studied. NTP treatment for 2 min caused a 3 log 10 decrease of wild type strain EGDe extracellular bacteria. Similar treatment of infected HEK293 cells caused a 1.5-fold decrease of intracellular EGDe bacteria. The intraphagosomal EGDeΔhly lacked the pore-forming toxin LLO was resistant to NTP. Cell pretreatment with NTP before infection increased EGDe invasion of human HEK293 and murine C26 cells 2.5 and 1.7-fold, respectively. HEK293 cell pretreatment did not affect invasion by EGDe ΔinlA that lacked the invasion factor InlA. Taken together, obtained results demonstrated that a direct NTP effect on intracellular L. monocytogenes was low, still NTP affected interactions between L. monocytogenes and the host cell.

We consider the results of experimental observation of melting of a plasma-dust monolayer (2D phase transition) in a low-pressure gas discharge. Pair and bond-angular correlation functions as well as the number of topological defects in the monolayer are measured and analyzed. The change of profile of the bond-angular correlation functions confirms the existence of the solid-hexatic phase-liquid phase transition, which completely correlates with the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless theory.

A self-consistent model of plasma polarization around an isolated micron-sized dust particle under the action of an external electric field is presented. It is shown that the quasineutral condition is fulfilled and the formed volume charge totally screens the dust particle. The ion focusing and wake formation behind the dust particle are demonstrated for different ion mean free paths and the external electric fields. It is obtained that at low values of the external electric field the trapped ions play the main role in the screening of the dust particle charge. For high external electric fields, the density of trapped ions decreases and the dust particle is screened mainly by the free ions.

Formation of ordered structures from a large number (∼104) of charged diamagnetic macroparticles in a cusp magnetic trap under microgravity conditions is experimentally studied. The experiments are performed onboard the International Space Station. Dusty plasma structures in a cryogenic d.c. glow discharge (cryogenic dusty plasma) are examined. Ultrahigh charging of dust macroparticles under the action of an electron beam is experimentally obtained and studied. Results of an experimental investigation of various regimes of the Brownian motion of interacting dust particles in the plasma are presented. A method of determining particle interaction forces in nonideal systems with isotropic pair potentials is proposed. The method is based on solving an inverse problem that describes the motion of interacting particles by a system of the Langevin equations and allows reconstruction of parameters of the external confining potential without using a priori information about the friction coefficients of particles.

Aim To study the effects exerted by argon microwave nonthermal plasma (NTP) on cell wall-lacking Mollicutes bacteria. Methods and Results 108 CFU ml−1 agar plated Mycoplasma hominis and Acholeplasma laidlawii were treated with the nonthermal microwave argon plasma for 30–300 s. The maximal 10- and 100-fold drop was observed for A. laidlawii and Myc. hominis, respectively. Similarly treated Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus demonstrated the 105 and 103 drop, respectively. Removal of cholesterol affected resistance of A. laidlawii. 10 mmol l−1 antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene decreased mortality by a factor of 25–200. UV radiation alone caused 25–85% mortality in comparison with the whole NTP. Exogenously added hydrogen peroxide H2O2 did not cause mortality. NTP treatment of Myc. hominis triggered growth of microcolonies, which were several tenfold smaller than a typical colony. Conclusions Despite the lack of cell wall, A. laidlawii and Myc. hominis were more resistant to argon microwave NTP than other tested bacteria. Mycoplasma hominis formed microcolonies upon NTP treatment. A role of UV and active species was demonstrated. Significance and Impact of the Study The first study of NTP effects on Mollicutes revealed importance of a membrane composition for bacterial resistance to NTP. New specific Myc. hominis morphological forms were observed. The study confirmed importance of the concerted action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with UV and other plasma bioactive agents for NTP bactericidal action.

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) consists of a huge amount of biologically active particles, whereas its tem- perature is close to ambient. This combination allows one to use NTP as a perspective tool for solving different biomedical tasks, including antitumor therapy. The treatment of tumor cells with NTP caused dose-dependent effects, such as growth arrest and apoptosis. However, while the outcome of NTP treatment has been established, the molecular mechanisms of the interaction between NTP and eukaryotic cells have not been thoroughly stud- ied thus far. In this work, the mechanisms and the type of death of human colon carcinoma HCT 116 cells upon application of non-thermal argon plasma were studied. The effect of NTP on the major stress-activated protein p53 was investigated. The results demonstrate that the viability of HCT116 cells upon plasma treatment is de- pendent on the functional p53 protein. NTP treatment caused an increase in the intracellular concentration of p53 and the induction of the p53-controlled regulon. The p53-dependent accumulation of active proapoptotic caspase-3 was shown in NTP-treated cells. The study was the first to demonstrate that treatment of human colon carcinoma cells with NTP results in p53-dependent apoptosis. The results obtained contribute to our under- standing of the applicability of NTP in antitumor therapy. KEYWORDS non-thermal plasma; protein p53; apoptosis. ABBREVIATIONS NTP - non-thermal plasma.

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is a flow of partially ionized argon gas at an ambient macroscopic temperature and is microbicidal for bacteria, viruses and fungi. Viability of the Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterial parasite Chlamydia trachomatis and its host cells was investigated after NTP treatment. NTP treatment of C. trachomatis extracellular elementary bodies (EBs) diminished the concentration of infectious bacteria by a factor of 9×10(4), as established by the parallel infection of murine fibroblast McCoy cells with treated and control EBs. NTP treatment of infected McCoy cells caused disruption of membrane-restricted vacuoles (inclusions), where C. trachomatis intracellular reticulate bodies (RBs) multiply, and a 2×10(6)-fold reduction in the concentration of infectious bacteria. When the samples were covered with magnesium fluoride glass to obstruct plasma particles and UV rays alone were applied, the bactericidal effect was reduced 1.4×10(1)-fold and 5×10(4)-fold for EBs and RBs, respectively. NTP treatment caused the viability of host McCoy cells to diminish by 19%. Therefore, the results obtained demonstrated that (i) both extracellular and intracellular forms of C. trachomatis are sensitive to NTP treatment; (ii) the reduction in concentration of infectious bacteria after NTP treatment of infected cells is superior to the reduction in viability of host cells; and (iii) the effect of NTP on intracellular bacteria does not depend on UV rays.

The possibility of the formation of dust structures in cryogenic environment at 4.2-77 K was proved experimentally in the previous researches of cryogenic complex (dusty) plasma [1–5]. It was revealed from the experiments, among others, that the dust structures with high concentration of dust particles can be formed, in which interparticle distance is comparable with particle size - super dense dusty plasma structures. Such structures had exotic properties such as globular (spherical) form, free boundaries, etc. In the present work new results on the experimental investigations of new phenomenon of spheroidizing - process of the dust structure transition to compact globular shape at cryogenic temperatures - were presented. Possible nature of such phenomenon is discussed (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Nonthermal plasmas (NTPs) represent a perspective class of antibacterial agents that might be an alternative to chemical disinfectants because they possess an unspecific antimicrobial activity and can be applied to decontamination of heatand chemical-sensitive surfaces as well as to the infected skin and wounds. The resistance to NTP depends on properties of both a microorganism and a certain plasma source. Two bacterial species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, which are among the most important causative agents of nosocomial infections, were tested with three different plasma sources. The ferroelectric air plasma generator, the microwave argon plasma source, and the generator of a positive and negative corona discharge in air demonstrated increasing activity toward tested bacteria. The relative resistance of the tested strains to NTPs produced by distinct plasma sources differed. P. aeruginosa was more resistance to the corona discharge and less resistant to the plasma generated by the ferroelectric generator than S. aureus while both strains demonstrated comparable resistance to microwave argon plasma. Obtained results demonstrated a role of charged particles as a primary factor in the high effectiveness of the positive and negative coronas and an importance of the NO• radical among neutral active species.

The formation of strongly nonideal Coulomb systems of a large number (∼104) of charged diamagnetic macroparticles in a cusp magnetic trap under microgravity conditions has been experimentally studied. The experiments have performed in the Russian segment of the International Space Station in the framework of the Coulomb Crystal experiment. Using the data of the videorecording of the positions of the particles in the magnetic trap, the magnetic susceptibility and charge of the particles have been estimated and the period of the oscillations of the cloud of the particles, as well as the damping rate of oscillations, has been determined.

Non-thermal (low-temperature) physical plasma is under intensive study as an alternative approach to control superficial wound and skin infections when the effectiveness of chemical agents is weak due to natural pathogen or biofilm resistance. The purpose of this study was to test the individual susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to non-thermal argon plasma and to measure the effectiveness of plasma treatments against bacteria in biofilms and on wound surfaces. Overall, Gram-negative bacteria were more susceptible to plasma treatment than Gram-positive bacteria. For the Gram-negative bacteriaPseudomonas aeruginosa,Burkholderia cenocepaciaandEscherichia coli, there were no survivors among the initial 105c.f.u. after a 5 min plasma treatment. The susceptibility of Gram-positive bacteria was species- and strain-specific.Streptococcus pyogeneswas the most resistant with 17 % survival of the initial 105c.f.u. after a 5 min plasma treatment.Staphylococcus aureushad a strain-dependent resistance with 0 and 10 % survival from 105c.f.u. of the Sa 78 and ATCC 6538 strains, respectively.Staphylococcus epidermidisandEnterococcus faeciumhad medium resistance. Non-ionized argon gas was not bactericidal. Biofilms partly protected bacteria, with the efficiency of protection dependent on biofilm thickness. Bacteria in deeper biofilm layers survived better after the plasma treatment. A rat model of a superficial slash wound infected withP. aeruginosaand the plasma-sensitiveStaphylococcus aureusstrain Sa 78 was used to assess the efficiency of argon plasma treatment. A 10 min treatment significantly reduced bacterial loads on the wound surface. A 5-day course of daily plasma treatments eliminatedP. aeruginosafrom the plasma-treated animals 2 days earlier than from the control ones. A statistically significant increase in the rate of wound closure was observed in plasma-treated animals after the third day of the course. Wound healing in plasma-treated animals slowed down after the course had been completed. Overall, the results show considerable potential for non-thermal argon plasma in eliminating pathogenic bacteria from biofilms and wound surfaces.