Many fundamental issues in classical condensed matter physics can be addressed experimentally using systems of individually visible mesoscopic particles playing the role of "proxy atoms". The interaction between such "atoms" is determined by the properties of the surrounding medium and/or by external tuning. The best-known examples of such experimental model systems are two different domains of soft matter - complex plasmas and colloidal dispersions.The major goal of this book - written by scientists representing both complex plasmas and colloidal dispersions - is to bring the two fields together. In the first part of the book the basic properties of the two systems are summarized, demonstrating huge conceptual and methodological overlap of the fields and emphasizing numerous cross-connections between them and their essential complementarity. This "introductory part" should serve to help each community in understanding the other field better. Simultaneously, this provides the necessary basis for the second part focused on particle-resolved studies of diverse generic phenomena in liquids and solids - all performed with complex plasmas and/or colloidal dispersions. The book is concluded with the discussion of critical open issues and fascinating perspectives of such interdisciplinary research.

Complex plasmas are dusty plasmas in which the density and electric charges of the dust grains are sufficiently high to induce long-range grain-grain interactions, as well as strong absorption of charged-plasma components. Together with the sources replenishing the plasma such systems form a highly dissipative thermodynamically open system that exhibits many features of collective behaviour generally found in complex systems. Most notably among them are self-organized patterns such as plasma crystals, plasma clusters, dust stars and further spectacular new structures. Beyond their intrinsic scientific interest, the study of complex plasmas grows in importance in a great variety of fields, ranging from space-plasma sciences to applied fields such as plasma processing, thin-film deposition and even the production of computer chips by plasma etching, in which strongly interacting clouds of complex plasmas can cause major contamination of the final product.

Intended as first introductory but comprehensive survey of this rapidly emerging field, the present book addresses postgraduate students as well as specialist and nonspecialist researchers with a general background in either plasma physics, space sciences or the physics of complex systems.