Issue 10, 2020

A structure–dynamics relationship in ratcheted colloids: resonance melting, dislocations, and defect clusters

Abstract

We consider a two dimensional colloidal dispersion of soft-core particles driven by a one dimensional stochastic flashing ratchet that induces a time averaged directed particle current through the system. It undergoes a non-equilibrium melting transition as the directed current approaches a maximum associated with a resonance of the ratcheting frequency with the relaxation frequency of the system. We use extensive molecular dynamics simulations to present a detailed phase diagram in the ratcheting rate–mean density plane. With the help of a numerically calculated structure factor, solid and hexatic order parameters, and pair correlation functions, we show that the non-equilibrium melting is a continuous transition from a quasi-long range ordered solid to a hexatic phase. The transition is mediated by the unbinding of dislocations and formation of compact and string-like defect clusters.

Graphical abstract: A structure–dynamics relationship in ratcheted colloids: resonance melting, dislocations, and defect clusters

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Nov 2019
Accepted
22 Jan 2020
First published
28 Jan 2020

Soft Matter, 2020,16, 2552-2564

A structure–dynamics relationship in ratcheted colloids: resonance melting, dislocations, and defect clusters

S. S. Khali, D. Chakraborty and D. Chaudhuri, Soft Matter, 2020, 16, 2552 DOI: 10.1039/C9SM02238D

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