title: Coulomb double helical structure.
abstract: Structures of Coulomb clusters formed by dust particles in a plasma are studied by numerical simulation. Our study reveals the presence of various types of self-organized structures of a cluster confined in a prolate spheroidal electrostatic potential. The stable configurations depend on a prolateness parameter for the confining potential as well as on the number of dust particles in a cluster. One-dimensional string, two-dimensional zigzag structure and three-dimensional double helical structure are found as a result of the transition controlled by the prolateness parameter. The formation of stable double helical structures resulted from the transition associated with the instability of angular perturbations on double strings. Analytical perturbation study supports the findings of numerical simulations.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Technology, Meijo University, Nagoya 468-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamimura
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ishihara
mesh_terms: D008968:Molecular Conformation; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013997:Time Factors