title: Direct observation of mode-coupling instability in two-dimensional plasma crystals.
abstract: Dedicated experiments on melting of two-dimensional plasma crystals were carried out. The melting was always accompanied by spontaneous growth of the particle kinetic energy, suggesting a universal plasma-driven mechanism underlying the process. By measuring three principal dust-lattice wave modes simultaneously, it is unambiguously demonstrated that the melting occurs due to the resonance coupling between two of the dust-lattice modes. The variation of the wave modes with the experimental conditions, including the emergence of the resonant (hybrid) branch, reveals exceptionally good agreement with the theory of mode-coupling instability.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, 85741 Garching, Germany. lcouedel@mpe.mpg.de
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Couëdel
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nosenko
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Ivlev
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Zhdanov
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Morfill