title: Granular phase transition as a precondition for segregation.
abstract: Experimental results are presented on the segregation of a mixture of spheres with two different sizes, rolling on a circularly vibrating table. Beyond a critical density of particles a demixing occurs leading to a clustering of the larger ones. A monodisperse layer of spheres shows a liquid-solid-like phase transition at a slightly lower critical density. These critical particle densities are both found to be independent of the driving frequency, but decrease with increasing vibration amplitude.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, F-75231 Paris, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aumaître
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schnautz
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Kruelle
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rehberg