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Issue A&A
Volume 376, Number 3, September IV 2001
Page(s) L43 - L47
Section Letters
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20011103



A&A 376, L43-L47 (2001)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20011103

New mechanism of dust growth and gravitation-like instabilities in astrophysical plasmas

R. Bingham1, 2 and V. N. Tsytovich3, 4

1  Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0QX, UK
2  University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XQ, Scotland, UK
3  General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Vavilova Str. 38, Moscow, Russia
4  Moscow Physical Technical Institute, Moscow, Russia

(Received 19 January 2001 / Accepted 3 August 2001 )

Abstract
Dust growth by agglomeration due to a new mechanism of dust attraction is shown to compete in space plasmas with the standard accretion mechanism by neutral particles. We demonstrate that dust growth by accretion of neutrals and plasma particles is aided by a pressure force due to a shadowing effect first proposed (Bingham & Tsytovich 2001) to explain rapid growth of dust in laboratory discharges. Consequences of this new force promoting dust growth by agglomeration in astrophysics are discussed including the role of a new gravitational-like instability which produces clumping enhancing the rate of gravitational collapse.


Key words: dust -- agglomeration: plasma: gravitational collapse

Offprint request: R. Bingham, R.Bingham@rl.ac.uk

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