LAUSR

In this work, we investigate the properties of ion acoustic waves generated by negative heavy ions in a multi-component non-Maxwellian electrostatic plasma, consisting of electrons, positive and negative heavy ions, and a background population of dust particles. In the absence of external energy source and collisions, the ion acoustic waves are subject to Landau damping. We perform a collisionless linear instability analysis within a slow damping approximation and study the effect of various plasma conditions on the damping rate. Our model is highly relevant to multi-ion laboratory plasmas and has been applied to K+– SF6− and K+– C7 F14− mixtures in particular.