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Crystallization via shaking in a granular gas with van der Waals interactions
Qiong Bai1, Marco G Mazza1,2
1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Abstract:
We investigate the effect of van der Waals forces on a collection of granular particles by means of molecular dynamics simulations of a vibrated system in three dimensions. The van der Waals interactions introduce two phase coexistences: one between a random close packing and a gas and a second between a polycrystalline dense state and a gas, where the dense, disordered component crystallizes when the driving amplitude exceeds a threshold value. The region of stability of the ordered state in the nonequilibrium phase diagram grows in size as the Hamaker constant increases or the degree of dissipation increases.
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