Abstract
We show that chiral symmetry can be broken spontaneously in one-component systems with isotropic interactions, i.e., many-particle systems having maximal a priori symmetry. This is achieved by designing isotropic potentials that lead to self-assembly of chiral surfaces. We demonstrate the principle on a simple chiral lattice and on a more complex lattice with chiral supercells. In addition, we show that the complex lattice has interesting melting behavior with multiple morphologically distinct phases that we argue can be qualitatively predicted from the design of the interaction.
- Received 12 January 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.165502
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Published by the American Physical Society
Focus
Asymmetric Patterns from Symmetric Forces
Published 20 April 2012
A spherically symmetric interaction force between particles can cause them to self-assemble into a surprisingly asymmetric (chiral) pattern in two dimensions, according to simulations.
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