Modified theory of secondary electron emission from spherical particles and its effect on dust charging in complex plasma

The authors have modified Chow's theory of secondary electron emission (SEE) to take account of the fact that the path length of a primary electron in a spherical particle varies between zero to the diameter or xm the penetration depth depending on the distance of the path from the centre of the particle. Further by including this modified expression for SEE efficiency, the charging kinetics of spherical grains in a Maxwellian plasma has been developed; it is based on charge balance over dust particles and number balance of electrons and ionic species. It is seen that this effect is more pronounced for smaller particles and higher plasma temperatures. Desirable experimental work has also been discussed.