The electrical conductivity of weakly ionized plasma containing dust particles

• The additional collision mechanism provided by charged dust particle is investigated.
• The effect of charged dust particles and their size distribution on plasma conductivity is examined.
• The results show that the charged dust particles can significantly alter the conductivity of electron–ion plasma.

The effect of charged dust particle on the electrical conductivity of weakly ionized dusty plasma is investigated. It is shown that the additional collision provided by charged dust particles can significantly alter the electrical conductivity of electron–ion plasma. The numerical results indicated that these effects are mainly determined by dust radius, density as well as the charge numbers on dust surface. The obtained results will support an enhanced understanding of the electromagnetic wave propagation processes in dusty plasma.