Physics of collective attraction of negatively charged dust particles

A physical interpretation is proposed for the collective attraction of dust particles, leading to pairing of likely (negatively) charged dust particles, the formation of dust molecules, and the emergence of other complexes containing a large number of dust particles (in the limit, dust plasma crystals). The value of the spacing between particles in such dust structures estimated on the basis of the proposed mechanism of attraction corresponds to the observed interparticle distances in the crystal lattices of recently discovered plasma-dust crystals. The proposed mechanism may form the basis for interpreting various phenomena frequently observed in dusty plasmas.