Interactions Between Dust-Density Waves and Plasma Glow

In complex plasmas, self-excited dust-density waves (DDWs) are observed below a critical gas pressure. Under microgravity conditions, the dust cloud fills the entire discharge volume so that extended wave fields can be generated. Here, we study the relationship between plasma glow and DDWs. Analyzing the dust density and plasma glow by means of video microscopy reveals self-organized oscillations of the entire plasma. In the region of strongly modulated DDWs, also waves occur in the plasma glow, having wavelengths and frequencies comparable to those of the DDWs.