We present a comprehensive theoretical and numerical investigation of dust-acoustic waves (DAWs) in a collisionless, unmagnetized dusty plasma comprising electrons, ions, and negatively charged dust grains. Using both fluid theory and Vlasov–Poisson simulations, we explore the effects of drift velocities in different plasma species on the stability and nonlinear evolution of DAWs. In the absence of drift, the plasma remains stable, exhibiting no wave growth or nonlinear phase-space structures. The introduction of drift in dust particles leads to fluid instabilities at certain threshold value, while ion drift proves to be a more efficient driver of instability, inducing both kinetic and fluid responses at comparatively lower drift speeds. Electron drift, due to the electrons' smaller mass and higher thermal velocity, requires significantly higher drift values to destabilize the system. The simulations reveal key nonlinear features, including wave amplification, energy transfer from drifting species to dust grains, the formation of phase-space holes, and the eventual saturation of wave energy. A transition from kinetic to fluid instability regimes is also observed with increasing drift velocity, particularly in ion-driven cases. These results offer valuable insights into the mechanisms of wave–particle interactions, energy transport, and instability formation in both laboratory and space dusty plasma environments.
Hadi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.