Reviews of Modern Physics

Gregor E. Morfill and Alexei V. Ivlev

Dusty complex plasmas are composed of a weakly ionized gas and charged microparticles or dust. Such plasmas constitute a model system giving us an opportunity to go beyond the limits of continuous media and study atomistic processes occurring in classical liquids or solids, in regimes ranging from the onset of cooperative phenomena to large strongly coupled systems. The generic properties of complex plasmas and their connections with classical condensed matter are described.
Published 2 October 2009 (52 pages)

Intergalactic space is filled with neutral and ionized gas which constitutes the so-called intergalactic medium (IGM). The properties of the IGM can be studied experimentally through the absorption features the gas produces in the spectra of quasistellar objects. The features reveal a highly fluctuating medium well reproduced by gravity-hydrodynamics simulations in standard cosmological structure formation scenarios. The IGM can probe primordial density fluctuations on scales unavailable to other methods. It is the principal source of baryons for galaxy formation, while detected metal systems within the IGM indicate early enrichment by evolved stars. This article reviews the current understanding of the structure and physical properties of the IGM and its relation to galaxies and their formation.
Published 5 October 2009 (65 pages)

Electric fields deform the interface between two liquids which may lead to interfacial instabilities, orientation, and phase transitions in simple liquids or heterogeneous polymers. This Colloquium describes experimental studies and theoretical models of various polymeric systems of interest.
Published 21 October 2009 (24 pages)