Simulation of fundamental kinetic processes in dusty plasmas

Summary form only given. In the present invited presentation, a method to simulate dusty plasmas including all the primary effects is described. The method uses a kinetic approach and allows a detailed microscopic description of the system (G. Lapenta in Shukla et al., 1996). The most characteristic feature of the method is the use of the immersed boundary method to describe the short range interactions between plasma species and dust particles. The application of the method to simulate dust charging and interactions among dust particles is described for realistic conditions found in experimental devices used to investigate dust crystals in glow discharges.