34 research outputs found
Topological Defects and Non-homogeneous Melting of Large 2D Coulomb Clusters
The configurational and melting properties of large two-dimensional clusters
of charged classical particles interacting with each other via the Coulomb
potential are investigated through the Monte Carlo simulation technique. The
particles are confined by a harmonic potential. For a large number of particles
in the cluster (N>150) the configuration is determined by two competing
effects, namely in the center a hexagonal lattice is formed, which is the
groundstate for an infinite 2D system, and the confinement which imposes its
circular symmetry on the outer edge. As a result a hexagonal Wigner lattice is
formed in the central area while at the border of the cluster the particles are
arranged in rings. In the transition region defects appear as dislocations and
disclinations at the six corners of the hexagonal-shaped inner domain. Many
different arrangements and type of defects are possible as metastable
configurations with a slightly higher energy. The particles motion is found to
be strongly related to the topological structure. Our results clearly show that
the melting of the clusters starts near the geometry induced defects, and that
three different melting temperatures can be defined corresponding to the
melting of different regions in the cluster.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Crystallization of a classical two-dimensional electron system: Positional and orientational orders
Crystallization of a classical two-dimensional one-component plasma
(electrons interacting with the Coulomb repulsion in a uniform neutralizing
positive background) is investigated with a molecular dynamics simulation. The
positional and the orientational correlation functions are calculated for the
first time. We have found an indication that the solid phase has a
quasi-long-range (power-law) positional order along with a long-range
orientational order. This indicates that, although the long-range Coulomb
interaction is outside the scope of Mermin's theorem, the absence of ordinary
crystalline order at finite temperatures applies to the electron system as
well. The `hexatic' phase, which is predicted between the liquid and the solid
phases by the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young theory, is also
discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures; Corrected typos; Double columne
Topological Defects, Orientational Order, and Depinning of the Electron Solid in a Random Potential
We report on the results of molecular dynamics simulation (MD) studies of the
classical two-dimensional electron crystal in the presence disorder. Our study
is motivated by recent experiments on this system in modulation doped
semiconductor systems in very strong magnetic fields, where the magnetic length
is much smaller than the average interelectron spacing , as well as by
recent studies of electrons on the surface of helium. We investigate the low
temperature state of this system using a simulated annealing method. We find
that the low temperature state of the system always has isolated dislocations,
even at the weakest disorder levels investigated. We also find evidence for a
transition from a hexatic glass to an isotropic glass as the disorder is
increased. The former is characterized by quasi-long range orientational order,
and the absence of disclination defects in the low temperature state, and the
latter by short range orientational order and the presence of these defects.
The threshold electric field is also studied as a function of the disorder
strength, and is shown to have a characteristic signature of the transition.
Finally, the qualitative behavior of the electron flow in the depinned state is
shown to change continuously from an elastic flow to a channel-like, plastic
flow as the disorder strength is increased.Comment: 31 pages, RevTex 3.0, 15 figures upon request, accepted for
publication in Phys. Rev. B., HAF94MD
Generic properties of a quasi-one dimensional classical Wigner crystal
We studied the structural, dynamical properties and melting of a
quasi-one-dimensional system of charged particles, interacting through a
screened Coulomb potential. The ground state energy was calculated and,
depending on the density and the screening length, the system crystallizes in a
number of chains. As a function of the density (or the confining potential),
the ground state configurations and the structural transitions between them
were analyzed both by analytical and Monte Carlo calculations. The system
exhibits a rich phase diagram at zero temperature with continuous and
discontinuous structural transitions. We calculated the normal modes of the
Wigner crystal and the magneto-phonons when an external constant magnetic field
is applied. At finite temperature the melting of the system was studied via
Monte Carlo simulations using the (MLC). The
melting temperature as a function of the density was obtained for different
screening parameters. Reentrant melting as a function of the density was found
as well as evidence of directional dependent melting. The single chain regime
exhibits anomalous melting temperatures according to the MLC and as a check we
study the pair correlation function at different densities and different
temperatures, formulating a different criterion. Possible connection with
recent theoretical and experimental results are discussed and experiments are
proposed.Comment: 13 pages text, 21 picture
Enhanced stability of the square lattice of a classical bilayer Wigner crystal
The stability and melting transition of a single layer and a bilayer crystal
consisting of charged particles interacting through a Coulomb or a screened
Coulomb potential is studied using the Monte-Carlo technique. A new melting
criterion is formulated which we show to be universal for bilayer as well as
for single layer crystals in the case of (screened) Coulomb, Lennard--Jones and
1/r^{12} repulsive inter-particle interactions. The melting temperature for the
five different lattice structures of the bilayer Wigner crystal is obtained,
and a phase diagram is constructed as a function of the interlayer distance. We
found the surprising result that the square lattice has a substantial larger
melting temperature as compared to the other lattice structures. This is a
consequence of the specific topology of the defects which are created with
increasing temperature and which have a larger energy as compared to the
defects in e.g. a hexagonal lattice.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Linear temperature dependence of conductivity in the "insulating" regime of dilute two-dimensional holes in GaAs
The conductivity of extremely high mobility dilute two-dimensional holes in
GaAs changes linearly with temperature in the insulating side of the
metal-insulator transition. Hopping conduction, characterized by an
exponentially decreasing conductivity with decreasing temperature, is not
observed when the conductivity is smaller than . We suggest that
strong interactions in a regime close to the Wigner crystallization must be
playing a role in the unusual transport.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure