Light Induced Melting of Colloidal Crystals in Two Dimensions
arXiv:cond-mat/9905238 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.2977
Abstract
We demonstrate that particles confined to two dimensions (2d) and subjected to a one-dimensional (1d) periodic potential exhibit a rich phase diagram, with both ``locked floating solids'' and smectic phases. The resulting phases and phase transitions are studied as a function of temperature and potential strength. We find reentrant melting as a function of the potential strength. Our results lead to universal predictions consistent with recent experiments on 2d colloids in the presence of a laser-induced 1d periodic potential.
4 pages, 3 figures, also available at http://cmtw.harvard.edu/~frey