| 2021 Fall Physics Colloquium Series
Professor Babak Shotorban
Department Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
First Passage Times of the
Fluctuating Charge of Dust in Plasmas
In dusty plasmas, the grain (net) charge is
characterized by intrinsic fluctuations over time.
This effect is due to the discrete nature of charge and the fact that electrons and ions collide with the grain at irregular time intervals. Although the grain charge may reach a stationary macrostate, namely the equilibrium charge, it will continue to fluctuate. Recent developments in the description of this phenomenon will be reviewed in this seminar, including a discussion on first passage times. Then, the mean first passage times will be presented for situations where the grain charge is metastable. That is when there is more than one macrostate and the grain charge spontaneously transitions from one macrostate to another.
Dr. Shotorban is a Visiting Scholar (in a sabbatical leave from UAH),
Department of Physics, Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics & Engineering Research (CASPER), Baylor University
Meet-the-Speaker Reception
3:40 p.m., ground-floor outside Patio D
Presentation
4:00 p.m., Room D.110
For more information contact: Dr. Lorin Matthews, 254-710-2279
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