The Effect of Dust Size Distribution on the Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in a Weakly Ionized Dusty Plasma

Abstract

Abstract The propagation characteristics of electromagnetic (EM) waves in dusty plasma of rocket exhaust are studied. Usually, the dust sizes are different in a general dusty plasma. However, most previous studies have focused on the mono-sized dusty plasma. The influence of dust size distribution on the EM wave attenuation of dusty plasmas has been investigated. The dependence of the EM wave attenuation on the electron density of dusty plasmas, the neutral gas density and the EM wave frequency are obtained and discussed. The results illustrate that the EM wave attenuation constant has a maximum value when the electron-neutral particles collision frequency is close to the EM wave frequency. The EM wave attenuation constant increase with the increase of electron density and dust particles density. Moreover, the EM wave attenuation constant decreases as the dust size decrease for mono-sized dust particles. It indicates that the attenuation of the EM wave is mainly determined by the largest dust particles. Finally, we conclude that the larger the dust particle, the stronger the attenuation to the EM wave.