On dusty plasma formation in Martian ionosphere

Abstract

Abstract A self-consistent model for the formation and evolution of dusty plasmas in the Martian ionosphere is developed. The effects of the initial distributions of dust particles, as well as condensation and absorption of carbon dioxide and water molecules by dust particles, are studied. Theory values of characteristic sizes of dust grains and their charges are obtained. The theoretical values of the sizes are in agreement with the data of observations. The possibility of the formation of dusty plasma structures in the Martian ionosphere which are analogous to noctilucent clouds in the atmosphere of the Earth is discussed.