Archer, AJ, Rucklidge, AM and Knobloch, E (2015) Soft-core particles freezing to form a quasicrystal and a crystal-liquid phase. Physical Review E, 92. 012324. ISSN 1539-3755
Abstract
Systems of soft-core particles interacting via a two-scale potential are studied. The potential is responsible for peaks in the structure factor of the liquid state at two different but comparable length scales and a similar bimodal structure is evident in the dispersion relation. Dynamical density functional theory in two dimensions is used to identify two unusual states of this system: a crystal-liquid state, in which the majority of the particles are located on lattice sites but a minority remains free and so behaves like a liquid, and a 12-fold quasicrystalline state. Both are present even for deeply quenched liquids and are found in a regime in which the liquid is unstable with respect to modulations on the smaller scale only. As a result, the system initially evolves towards a small-scale crystal state; this state is not a minimum of the free energy, however, and so the system subsequently attempts to reorganize to generate the lower-energy larger-scale crystals. This dynamical process generates a disordered state with quasicrystalline domains and takes place even when this large scale is linearly stable, i.e., it is a nonlinear process. With controlled initial conditions, a perfect quasicrystal can form. The results are corroborated using Brownian dynamics simulations.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015, American Physical Society. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Physical Review E. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Mathematics (Leeds) > Applied Mathematics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2015 11:16 |
Last Modified: | 15 Nov 2016 20:37 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.92.012324 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Physical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1103/PhysRevE.92.012324 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:87898 |