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Local melting and drag for a particle driven through a colloidal crystal
C Reichhardt1, C J Olson Reichhardt
1Center for Nonlinear Studies and Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|April 20, 2004
Summary
Driving a charged particle through a colloidal crystal can cause local melting and defects. This melting increases drag force and noise, similar to phenomena in superconductors.
Area of Science:
- Colloidal science
- Condensed matter physics
- Soft matter physics
Background:
- Colloidal crystals exhibit ordered structures.
- Particle interactions within crystals are temperature-dependent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To numerically investigate the behavior of a driven colloidal particle in a colloidal crystal.
- To understand the effect of temperature and particle charge on crystal structure and particle dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations of a driven colloidal particle.
- Analysis of colloidal crystal lattice defects.
- Measurement of drag force and noise fluctuations.
Main Results:
- Local melting of the colloidal crystal observed when driven particle charge is high.
- Defect generation in the lattice surrounding the driven particle.
- Increased drag force and significant noise fluctuations associated with defect generation.
Conclusions:
- Local melting is a key mechanism affecting particle dynamics in colloidal crystals.
- Observed phenomena share similarities with the peak effect in superconducting vortices.