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Crystallization of hard disks induced by a temperature gradient
1Institute of Physics, A. Mickiewicz University, ul. Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|September 28, 2010
Summary
Temperature gradients in hard-disk systems cause disks to accumulate at cold boundaries. For significant gradients or high densities, crystal formation occurs, impacting disk diffusivity and marking a liquid-crystal interface.
Area of Science:
- Statistical Mechanics
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Non-equilibrium Systems
Background:
- Uniform temperature does not alter equilibrium properties of hard-core systems.
- Temperature gradients, however, can significantly influence system behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of temperature gradients on hard-disk systems.
- To determine conditions under which crystal formation occurs at cold boundaries.
- To analyze the impact on particle diffusivity and system dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Event-driven molecular dynamics simulations were employed.
- Analysis included radial distribution function and bond order parameter calculations.
Main Results:
- Hard disks are repelled from hot boundaries and accumulate at cold ones under a temperature difference (ΔT).
- Crystal formation is observed at the cold boundary for sufficiently large ΔT or high coverage ratio (ρ*).
- A significant decrease in diffusivity marks the stationary liquid-crystal interface in this non-equilibrium system.
Conclusions:
- Temperature gradients induce spatial inhomogeneity and phase transitions in hard-disk systems.
- The system maintains energy equipartition and velocity distributions consistent with Boltzmann statistics despite being non-equilibrium.
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