The Effect of Grain Size-Secondary Electron Emission on Grain Growth in Dusty Plasma

Abstract

The calculation of the charge on an isolated dust grain immersed in plasma with different grain sizes is a challenging one, especially under moderately high plasma temperature when secondary electron emission significant. The discrete charging model is used to calculate the charges of dust grain in dusty plasma. In this model, we included the effect of grain size dependence on secondary electron emission. The results show that the secondary electron emission from the glass dust grains due to energetic electron (40eV) can lead to the small grain to be slightly more positive than the large grain. Under these conditions, the smaller and larger grains would be attracted rather than repelled, which possibly lead to enhanced coagulation rates.