title: Phase behavior of two-dimensional colloidal systems in the presence of periodic light fields.
abstract: We investigate the phase behavior of a two-dimensional suspension of charge stabilized polystyrene spheres in the presence of a one-dimensional periodic light field. With increasing light intensity we observe a liquid-solid followed by a solid-liquid transition which are known as laser-induced freezing and melting, respectively. Here we report on measurements where, in addition to the light intensity, the single particle density was also systematically varied. As a result, we obtain for the first time the full thermodynamic information about the system which allows comparison with numerical predictions of other authors.
authors.affiliation: University of Konstanz, Physics Department, Fach M676, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bechinger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leiderer