title: Dynamic self-assembly of non-Brownian spheres studied by molecular dynamics simulations.
abstract: Granular self-assembly of confined non-Brownian spheres under gravity is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Starting from a disordered phase, dry or cohesive spheres organize, by vibrational annealing, into body-centered-tetragonal or face-centered-cubic structures, respectively. During the self-assembling process, isothermal and isodense points are observed. The existence of such points indicates that both granular temperature and packing fraction undergo an inversion process that may be in the core of crystal nucleation. Around the isothermal point, a sudden growth of granular clusters having the maximum coordination number takes place, indicating the outcome of a first-order phase transition. We propose a heuristic equation that successfully describes the dynamic evolution of the local packing fraction in terms of the local granular temperature, along the entire crystallization process.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ingeniería Física, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, 97310 Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Carvente
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne, UMR No. 6603, CNRS, Université de Bourgogne, 9 Aveneu Alain Savary, BP 47870, 21078 Dijon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salazar-Cruz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ingeniería Física, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, 97310 Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peñuñuri
authors.affiliation: CINVESTAV Monterrey, Autopista Nueva al Aeropuerto km 9.5, Apodaca, Nuevo León 66600, México.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Suárez