Direct observation of dynamical heterogeneities in colloidal hard-sphere suspensions
The real-space dynamics in a model system of colloidal hard spheres was studied by means of time-resolved fluorescence confocal scanning microscopy. Direct experimental evidence for the presence of dynamical heterogeneities in a dense liquid was obtained from an analysis of particle trajectories in two-dimensional slices of the bulk sample. These heterogeneities manifest themselves as a non-Gaussian probability distribution of particle displacements and also affect the onset of long-time diffusive behavior.
Kegel
WK
Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands. Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM),
van Blaaderen A