Micro-origin of no-trough trapping in self-excited nonlinear dust acoustic waves

We experimentally investigate the micro-origin of the absence of trough trapping in nonlinear traveling dust acoustic waves self-excited by the downward ion flow in the dissipative dusty plasma. The wave forms of dust density, the drag force from the background neutrals, ions, and dusts, and the effective potential energy for dusts are constructed by tracking dust motion and measuring the velocity and the position-dependent forces. The tilted washboard type potential wave form with a slight phase lead to the dust density wave form is obtained. It provides sufficient kinetic energy to compensate drag dissipation and move dusts from the dust density trough to the crest front. The dusts with sufficient energy overcome the downward pushing by the crest front, climb over the crest, and sustain the oscillatory motion with upward drift. Those dusts with insufficient energy to climb over the potential barrier of the crest are trapped in and move downward with the crest front, until kicked upward by fluctuation. The upward neutral dominated drag force prevents them from sliding down the potential energy hill at the crest front and further oscillating in the trough. It leads to the absence of trough trapping.