Microparticles immersed in a low-temperature plasma acquire strong negative charges and thus repel each other. Nevertheless, effective attraction between the microparticles in such a complex plasma can occur due to the interplay between the fluxes of plasma ions and the microparticles. Here, we report the observation of droplets formed in a complex plasma during a parabolic flight, and explain their formation in terms of the ion drag force that sustains the droplet. We have found a good agreement between the experimentally determined droplet size and its theoretical estimate using the ion drag force mechanism. Lower values of the electron temperature result in better agreement, as is consistent with the pulsed mechanism of discharge used experimentally.

中文翻译：

---

在失重的复杂等离子体中形成液滴

浸入低温等离子体中的微粒会获得强大的负电荷，从而相互排斥。然而，由于等离子体离子流与微粒之间的相互作用，在这种复杂等离子体中微粒之间会发生有效吸引。在这里，我们报告了在抛物线飞行过程中在复杂等离子体中形成的液滴的观察结果，并根据维持液滴的离子阻力来解释它们的形成。我们发现实验确定的液滴尺寸与其使用离子拖曳力机制的理论估计之间具有良好的一致性。电子温度值越低，一致性越好，这与实验中使用的脉冲放电机制一致。