Laser Manipulation of the Void Edge in Dusty Plasmas Under Microgravity

Experiments on the laser manipulation of dust particles in a 3-D dust cloud under microgravity conditions are presented. The experiments have been performed on two parabolic flight campaigns in 2005 and 2006 to study the formation of the dust-free region ("void") in the center of the cloud. The manipulation laser is used to drive particles from the void edge into the void. From the particle trajectories, the forces on the particles are derived. The measured forces are compared to models of the ion drag force