arXiv subjects

Saikat C. Thakur

Publications and source records attributed to Saikat C. Thakur.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

DustNET: enabling machine learning and AI models of dusty plasmas

Dusty plasmas are ubiquitous throughout the universe, spanning laboratory and industrial plasmas, fusion devices, planetary environments, cometary comae, and interstellar media. Despite decades of research, many aspects of their behavior remain poorly understood within a unified framework. While numerous theoretical and numerical models describe specific phenomena, such as dust charging, transport, waves, and self-organization, fully predictive models across the wide range of spatial and temporal scales in both laboratory and natural systems remain elusive. Conventional plasma descriptions rely on coupled differential equations for particle densities, momenta, and energies, but their solutions are often limited by computational cost, numerical uncertainties, and incomplete knowledge of boundary conditions and transport processes. Recent advances in machine learning (ML), particularly deep neural networks, offer new opportunities to complement traditional physics-based modeling. Here we review ML and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches, termed bottom-up data-driven methods, for dusty plasma research. Central to this effort is Dust Neural nEtworks Technology (DustNET), a community-driven dataset initiative inspired by ImageNet, integrating experimental, simulation, and synthetic data to enable predictive modeling, uncertainty quantification, and multi-scale analysis. DustNET-trained models may also be deployed in real-time experimental settings under edge computing constraints. Combined with emerging multi-modal AI foundation models and autonomous agents, this framework provides a pathway toward a unified, physics-informed understanding of dusty plasmas across laboratory, industrial, space, and astrophysical environments.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2025

Electron magnetization effects on carbonaceous dusty nanoparticles grown in $Ar/C_2H_2$ capacitively coupled nonthermal plasma

Carbonaceous dusty nanoparticles spontaneously grow in nonthermal plasmas from a gas mixture of argon and acetylene. These particles levitate and grow within the bulk plasma for a duration known as the growth cycle ($T_c$), after which they gradually move away. In experiments operating at 500 milliTorr, the particles reach a maximum radius of approximately 250 nm for $T_c \sim$ 121 s. However, the introduction of weak magnetic fields reduces both the maximum radius and $T_c$. The modified electron Hall parameter ($H_e'$), which quantifies the degree of electron magnetization, increases linearly with the magnetic field strength, transitioning from unmagnetized electrons ($H_e' < 1$) to magnetized electrons ($H_e' > 1$). $T_c$ gradually decreases to around 40 s until $H_e' \sim 1$ at approximately 330 Gauss, after which it remains roughly constant for fields up to about 1020 Gauss. Additionally, with increasing magnetic field strength, the dust growth rate initially decreases to $H_e' \sim 1$, then increases slightly again. These results demonstrate that the onset of electron magnetization at can control the growth of nanoparticles from chemical precursors in nonthermal plasmas, which is relevant for industrial applications.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

Comparing growth of titania and carbonaceous dusty nanoparticles in weakly magnetised capacitively coupled plasmas

This study compares the growth cycles and spatial distribution of dust cloud for titania and carbonaceous dusty nanoparticles in capacitively coupled radiofrequency plasmas, with and without the presence of a weak magnetic field of approximately 500 Gauss. Findings on cycle time, growth rate, and spatial distribution of dust cloud are discussed. The growth of nanoparticles in these plasmas is cyclic, with particles reaching their maximum size and subsequently moving out of the plasma, followed by the generation of a new particle growth cycle. The presence of the magnetic field speeds up the growth cycle in both plasma. The magnetic field also makes the spatial distribution of the two dust cloud different from each other. Langmuir probe measurement of the background plasma parameters such as electron temperature and floating potential reveal radial variations in floating potential but not electron temperature. Furthermore, the magnetic field changes the radial variation of floating potential. These measurements, however, are not sufficient to explain why the two dust clouds appear differently. It is possible that the differences occur due to a gradient in the radial distribution of the magnetic field.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2023

Introducing dusty plasma particle growth of nanospherical titanium dioxide

In dusty plasma environments, the spontaneous growth of nanoparticles from reactive gases has been extensively studied for over three decades, primarily focusing on hydrocarbons and silicate particles. Here, we introduce the growth of titanium dioxide, a wide band gap semiconductor, as dusty plasma nanoparticles. The resultant particles exhibited a spherical morphology and reached a maximum homogeneous radius of 230 $\pm$ 17 nm after an elapsed time of 70 seconds. The particle grew linearly and the growth displayed a cyclic behavior; that is, upon reaching their maximum radius, the largest particles fell out of the plasma, and a new growth cycle immediately followed. The particles were collected after being grown for different amounts of time and imaged using scanning electron microscopy. Further characterization was carried out using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy to elucidate the chemical composition and crystalline properties of the maximally sized particles. Initially, the as-grown particles after 70 seconds exhibited an amorphous structure. However, annealing treatments at temperatures of 400 $^\circ$C and 800 $^\circ$C induced crystallization, yielding anatase and rutile phases, respectively. Notably, annealing at 600 $^\circ$C resulted in a mixed phase of anatase and rutile. These findings open new avenues for a rapid and controlled growth technique of titanium dioxide as dusty plasma.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2022

Wave propagation and power deposition in blue-core helicon plasma

The wave propagation and power deposition in blue-core helicon plasma are computed referring to recent experiments. It is found that the radial profile of wave electric field peaks off-axis during the blue-core formation, and the location of this peak is very close to that of particle transport barrier observed in experiment; the radial profile of wave magnetic field shows multiple radial modes inside the blue-core column, which is consistent with the experimental observation of coherent high $m$ modes through Bessel function. The axial profiles of wave field indicate that, once the blue-core mode has been achieved, waves can only propagate inside the formed column with distinct phase compared to that outside. The wave energy distribution shows a clear and sharp boundary at the edge of blue-core column, besides which periodic structures are observed and the axial periodicity inside is nearly twice that outside. The dispersion relation inside the blue-core column exhibits multiple modes, a feature of resonant cavity that selects different modes during frequency variation, while the dispersion relation outside gives constant wave number with changed frequency. The power deposition appears to be off-axis in the radial direction and periodic in the axial direction, and mostly inside the blue-core column. Analyses based on step-like function theory and introduced blue-core constant provide consistent results. The equivalence of blue-core column to optical fiber for electromagnetic communication is also explored and inspires a novel application of helicon plasma, which may be one of the most interesting findings of present work.

physics.plasm-ph↗