Two-Dimensional Melting of a Crystal of Ferrofluid Spikes
F. Boyer1 and E.
Falcon2
1 IUSTI, Université de Provence,
CNRS (UMR 6595), 5 rue E. Fermi, 13 453 Marseille, France
2 Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes
(MSC), Université Paris Diderot, CNRS (UMR 7057)
10 rue A. Domon & L. Duquet, 75 013 Paris, France
Reference:
Physical
Review Letters 103, 144501
(2009)
URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.144501
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.144501
Abstract:
We report the observation of the transition from an
ordered solid-like phase to a disordered liquid-like phase of a
lattice of spikes on a ferrofluid surface submitted to horizontal
sinusoidal vibrations. The melting transition occurs for a critical
spike displacement which is experimentally found to follow the
Lindemann criterion, for two different lattice topologies (hexagonal
and square) and over a wide range of lattice wavelengths. An
intermediate hexatic-like phase between the solid and isotropic liquid
phases is also observed and characterized by standard correlation
functions.
This dissipative out-of-equilibrium system exhibits strong similarities
with 2D melting in solid-state physics.
Keywords :
2D melting – transition – solid – liquid – hexatic – out-of-equilibrium
transition – correlation functions – Lindemann criterion – KTHNY –
experiment – ferrofluid
Pacs:
47.65.Cb: Magnetic fluids and ferrofluids
64.70.D-:
Solid-liquid
transitions
05.70.Ln:
Non
equilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics
PDF
file