Charge-fluctuation-induced heating of dust particles in a plasma

Random charge fluctuations are always present in dusty plasmas due to the d iscrete nature of currents charging the dust particle. These fluctuations c an be a reason for the heating of the dust particle system. Such unexpected heating leading to the melting of the dust crystals was observed recently in several experiments. In this paper we show by analytical evaluations and numerical simulation that charge fluctuations provide an effective source of energy and can heat the dust particles up to several eV, in conditions c lose to experimental ones. [S1063-651X(99)12110-X].