Two-Dimensional Melting of a Crystal of Ferrofluid Spikes

François Boyer and Eric Falcon
Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 144501 – Published 28 September 2009

Abstract

We report the observation of the transition from an ordered solidlike phase to a disordered liquidlike 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 hexaticlike 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.

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  • Received 1 July 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.144501

©2009 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

François Boyer1 and Eric Falcon2

  • 1IUSTI, Université de Provence, CNRS (UMR 6595), 5 rue E. Fermi, 13 453 Marseille, France
  • 2Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes (MSC), Université Paris Diderot, CNRS (UMR 7057) 10 rue A. Domon & L. Duquet, 75 013 Paris, France

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Vol. 103, Iss. 14 — 2 October 2009

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