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The PK-3 Plus laboratory onboard the International Space Station is used to form complex plasma with a liquidlike particle subsystem in metastable state and to observe the propagation of crystallization fronts corresponding to the surfaces of crystal domains. We propose the "axis" algorithm of solidlike particles identification, which makes it possible to isolate different domains and their surfaces as well. Determination of the three-dimensional front velocity is based on its definition implying that there exists a small area of the domain surface propagating along some line perpendicularly to it. The velocity measured in this way is an important characteristic of the plasma crystallization kinetics. It proves to be almost independent of time and the direction of front propagation and amounts to ca. 60--80 micron per second., Comment: 10 pages, 8 fidures

Oscillation of particles in a dust crystal formed in a low-pressure radio-frequency gas discharge under microgravity conditions is studied. Analysis of experimental data obtained in our previous study shows that the oscillations are highly isotropic and nearly homogeneous in the bulk of a dust crystal; oscillations of the neighboring particles are significantly correlated. We demonstrate that the standard deviation of the particle radius-vector along with the local particle number density fully define the coupling parameter of the particle subsystem. The latter proves to be of the order of 100, which is two orders of magnitude lower than the coupling parameter estimated for the Brownian diffusion of particles with the gas temperature. This means significant kinetic overheating of particles under stationary conditions. A theoretical interpretation of the large amplitude of oscillation implies the increase of particle charge fluctuations in the dust crystal. The theoretical estimates are based on the ionization equation of state for the complex plasma and the equation for the plasma perturbation evolution. They are shown to match the results of experimental data processing. Estimated order of magnitude of the coupling parameter accounts for the existence of the solid-liquid phase transition observed for similar systems in experiments., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 1 table

We propose a novel method of determination of the dust particle spatial distribution in dust clouds that form in three-dimensional (3D) complex plasmas under microgravity conditions. The method utilizes the data obtained during the 3D scanning of a cloud and provides a reasonably good accuracy. Based on this method, we investigate the particle density in a dust cloud realized in gas discharge plasma in the PK-3 Plus setup onboard the International Space Station. We find that the treated dust clouds are both anisotropic and inhomogeneous. One can isolate two regimes, in which a stationary dust cloud can be observed. At low pressures, the particle density decreases monotonically with the increase of the distance from the discharge center; at higher pressures, the density distribution has a shallow minimum. Regardless of the regime, we detect a cusp of the distribution at the void boundary and a slowly varying density at larger distances (in the foot region). A theoretical interpretation of obtained results is developed that leads to reasonable estimates of the densities for both the cusp and foot. The modified ionization equation of state, which allows for violation of the local quasineutrality in the cusp region, predicts the spatial distributions of ion and electron densities to be measured in future experiments., Comment: 37 pages, 13 figures

We report the first observation of the Mach cones excited by a larger microparticle (projectile) moving through a cloud of smaller microparticles (dust) in a complex plasma with neon as a buffer gas under microgravity conditions. A collective motion of the dust particles occurs as propagation of the contact discontinuity. The corresponding speed of sound was measured by a special method of the Mach cone visualization. The measurement results are incompatible with the theory of ion acoustic waves. The estimate for the pressure in a strongly coupled Coulomb system and a scaling law for the complex plasma make it possible to derive an evaluation for the speed of sound, which is in a reasonable agreement with the experiments in complex plasmas., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

Subsonic motion of a large particle moving through the bulk of a dust crystal formed by negatively charged small particles is investigated using the PK-3 Plus laboratory onboard the International Space Station. Tracing the particle trajectories show that the large particle moves almost freely through the bulk of plasma crystal, while dust particles move along characteristic alpha-shaped pathways near the large particle. In the hydrodynamic approximation, we develop a theory of nonviscous dust particles motion about a large particle and calculate particle trajectories. A good agreement with experiment validates our approach., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures

Phase behavior of large three-dimensional complex plasma systems under microgravity conditions onboard the International Space Station is investigated. The neutral gas pressure is used as a control parameter to trigger phase changes. Detailed analysis of structural properties and evaluation of three different melting/freezing indicators reveal that complex plasmas can exhibit melting by increasing the gas pressure. Theoretical estimates of complex plasma parameters allow us to identify main factors responsible for the observed behavior. The location of phase states of the investigated systems on a relevant equilibrium phase diagram is estimated. Important differences between the melting process of 3D complex plasmas under microgravity conditions and that of flat 2D complex plasma crystals in ground based experiments are discussed., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. E

Freezing and melting of large three-dimensional complex plasmas under microgravity conditions is investigated. The neutral gas pressure is used as a control parameter to trigger the phase changes: Complex plasma freezes (melts) by decreasing (increasing) the pressure. Evolution of complex plasma structural properties upon pressure variation is studied. Theoretical estimates allow us to identify main factors responsible for the observed behavior., Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press); 4 pages, 4 figures