The effect of single-particle charge limits on charge distributions in dusty plasmas

An analytical expression for the stationary particle charge distribution in dusty plasmas is derived that accounts for the existence of single-particle charge limits. This expression is validated by comparison with the results of Monte Carlo charging simulations. The relative importance of the existence of charge limits for various values of the ratio of electron-to-ion density and ion mass is examined, and the effect of charge limits on the transient behavior of the charge distribution is considered. It is found that the time required to reach a steady-state charge distribution strongly decreases as the charge limit decreases, and that the existence of charge limits causes high-frequency charge fluctuations to become relatively more important than in the case without charge limits.