Melting of polydisperse colloidal crystals in nonequilibrium.
The influence of a time-dependent oscillatory external field on the melting transition of a polydisperse colloidal crystal is examined by theory and computer simulation. In a monodisperse crystal the field just induces an overall dynamical mode which does not affect the melting line. For a polydisperse sample, on the other hand, the field shifts the melting line towards smaller temperatures. Combining a solid cell approach and a Lindemann criterion in nonequilibrium, a simple theory is presented showing that the temperature shift scales with the square of the relative polydispersity. The theory is in reasonable agreement with nonequilibrium Brownian dynamics computer simulations.
Löwen
H
H
Institut für Theoretische Physik II, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstrasse 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Hoffmann
G P
GP