arXiv subjects

Michael Schmiedeberg

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Schmiedeberg.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Anisotropy and memory during cage breaking events close to a wall

The slow dynamics in a glassy hard-sphere system is dominated by cage breaking events, i.e., rearrangements where a particle escapes from the cage formed by its neighboring particles. We study such events for an overdamped colloidal system by the means of Brownian dynamics simulations. While it is difficult to relate cage breaking events to structural mean field results in bulk, we show that the microscopic dynamics of particles close to a wall can be related to the anisotropic two-particle density. In particular, we study cage-breaking trajectories, mean forces on a tracked particle, and the impact of the history of trajectories. Based on our simulation results, we further construct two different one-particle random-walk models - one without and one with memory incorporated - and find the local anisotropy and the history-dependence of particles as crucial ingredients to describe the escape from a cage. Finally, our detailed study of a rearrangement event close to a wall not only reveals the memory effect of cages, but leads to a deeper insight into the fundamental mechanisms of glassy dynamics.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2015

Horizons and free path distributions in quasiperiodic Lorentz gases

We study the structure of quasiperiodic Lorentz gases, i.e., particles bouncing elastically off fixed obstacles arranged in quasiperiodic lattices. By employing a construction to embed such structures into a higher dimensional periodic hyperlattice, we give a simple and efficient algorithm for numerical simulation of the dynamics of these systems. This same construction shows that quasiperiodic Lorentz gases generically exhibit a regime with infinite horizon, that is, empty channels through which the particles move without colliding, when the obstacles are small enough; in this case, the distribution of free paths is asymptotically a power law with exponent -3, as expected from infinite-horizon periodic Lorentz gases. For the critical radius at which these channels disappear, however, a new regime with locally-finite horizon arises, where this distribution has an unexpected exponent of -5, previously observed only in a Lorentz gas formed by superposing three incommensurable periodic lattices in the Boltzmann-Grad limit where the radius of the obstacles tends to zero.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2015

Anisotropic pair correlations in binary and multicomponent hard-sphere mixtures in the vicinity of a hard wall: A combined density functional theory and simulation study

The fundamental measure approach to classical density functional theory has been shown to be a powerful tool to predict various thermodynamic properties of hard-sphere systems. We employ this approach to determine not only one-particle densities but also two-particle correlations in binary and six-component mixtures of hard spheres in the vicinity of a hard wall. The broken isotropy enables us to carefully test a large variety of theoretically predicted two-particle features by quantitatively comparing them to the results of Brownian dynamics simulations. Specifically, we determine and compare the one-particle density, the total correlation functions, their contact values, and the force distributions acting on a particle. For this purpose, we follow the compressibility route and theoretically calculate the direct correlation functions by taking functional derivatives. We usually observe an excellent agreement between theory and simulations, except for small deviations in cases where local crystal-like order sets in. Our results set the course for further investigations on the consistency of functionals as well as for structural analysis on, e.g., the primitive model. In addition, we demonstrate that due to the suppression of local crystallization, the predictions of six-component mixtures are better than those in bidisperse or monodisperse systems. Finally, we are confident that our results of the structural modulations induced by the wall lead to a deeper understanding of ordering in anisotropic systems in general, the onset of heterogeneous crystallization, caging effects, and glassy dynamics close to a wall, as well as structural properties in systems with confinement.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2013

Brownian particles on rough substrates: Relation between the intermediate subdiffusion and the asymptotic long-time diffusion

Brownian particles in random potentials show an extended regime of subdiffusive dynamics at intermediate times. The asymptotic diffusive behavior is often established at very long times and thus cannot be accessed in experiments or simulations. For the case of one-dimensional random potentials with Gaussian distributed energies, we present a detailed analysis of experimental and simulation data. It is shown that the asymptotic long-time diffusion coefficient can be related to the behavior at intermediate times, namely the minimum of the exponent that characterizes subdiffusion and hence corresponds to the maximum degree of subdiffusion. As a consequence, investigating only the dynamics at intermediate times is sufficient to predict the order of magnitude of the long-time diffusion coefficient and the timescale at which the crossover from subdiffusion to diffusion occurs, i.e. when the long-time diffusive regime and hence thermal equilibrium is established.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2013

Compatibility waves drive crystal growth on patterned substrates

We explore the crystallization in a colloidal monolayer on a structured template starting from a few-particle nucleus. The competition between the substrate structure and that of the growing crystal induces a new crystal growth scenario. Unlike with the crystal growth in the bulk where a well-defined and connected crystal-fluid interface grows into the fluid, we identify a mechanism where a "compatibility wave" of the prescribed nucleus with the underlying substrate structure dictates the growth direction and efficiency. The growth process is strongly anisotropic and proceeds via transient island formation in front of an initial solid-fluid interface. We demonstrate the validity of this compatibility wave concept for a large class of substrate structures including a square-lattice and a quasicrystalline pattern. Dynamical density functional theory which provides a microscopic approach to the crystallization process is employed for colloidal hard spheres. Our predictions can be verified in experiments on confined colloids and also bear consequences for molecular crystal growth on structured substrates.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2011

Mapping the glassy dynamics of soft spheres onto hard-sphere behavior

We show that the dynamics of soft-sphere systems with purely repulsive interactions can be described by introducing an effective hard-sphere diameter determined using the Andersen-Weeks-Chandler approximation. We find that this approximation, known to describe static properties of liquids, also gives a good description of a dynamical quantity, the relaxation time, even in the vicinity of the glass transition.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2010

Universal Jamming Phase Diagram in the Hard-Sphere Limit

We present a new formulation of the jamming phase diagram for a class of glass-forming fluids consisting of spheres interacting via finite-ranged repulsions at temperature $T$, packing fraction $ϕ$ or pressure $p$, and applied shear stress $Σ$. We argue that the natural choice of axes for the phase diagram are the dimensionless quantities $T/pσ^3$, $pσ^3/ε$, and $Σ/p$, where $T$ is the temperature, $p$ is the pressure, $Σ$ is the stress, $σ$ is the sphere diameter, $ε$ is the interaction energy scale, and $m$ is the sphere mass. We demonstrate that the phase diagram is universal at low $pσ^3/ε$; at low pressure, observables such as the relaxation time are insensitive to details of the interaction potential and collapse onto the values for hard spheres, provided the observables are non-dimensionalized by the pressure. We determine the shape of the jamming surface in the jamming phase diagram, organize previous results in relation to the jamming phase diagram, and discuss the significance of various limits.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2010

Archimedean-like colloidal tilings on substrates with decagonal and tetradecagonal symmetry

Two-dimensional colloidal suspensions subject to laser interference patterns with decagonal symmetry can form an Archimedean-like tiling phase where rows of squares and triangles order aperiodically along one direction [J. Mikhael et al., Nature 454, 501 (2008)]. In experiments as well as in Monte-Carlo and Brownian dynamics simulations, we identify a similar phase when the laser field possesses tetradecagonal symmetry. We characterize the structure of both Archimedean-like tilings in detail and point out how the tilings differ from each other. Furthermore, we also estimate specific particle densities where the Archimedean-like tiling phases occur. Finally, using Brownian dynamics simulations we demonstrate how phasonic distortions of the decagonal laser field influence the Archimedean-like tiling. In particular, the domain size of the tiling can be enlarged by phasonic drifts and constant gradients in the phasonic displacement. We demonstrate that the latter occurs when the interfering laser beams are not adjusted properly.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2005

Superdiffusion in a Honeycomb Billiard

We investigate particle transport in the honeycomb billiard that consists of connected channels placed on the edges of a honeycomb structure. The spreading of particles is superdiffusive due to the existence of ballistic trajectories which we term perfect paths. Simulations give a time exponent of 1.72 for the mean square displacement and a starlike, i.e., anisotropic particle distribution. We present an analytical treatment based on the formalism of continuous-time random walks and explain both the time exponent and the anisotropic distribution. In billiards with randomly distributed channels, conventional diffusion is always observed in the long-time limit, although for small disorder transient superdiffusional behavior exists. Our simulation results are again supported by an analytical analysis.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2005

Photon Channelling in Foams

Experiments by Gittings, Bandyopadhyay, and Durian [Europhys. Lett.\ \textbf{65}, 414 (2004)] demonstrate that light possesses a higher probability to propagate in the liquid phase of a foam due to total reflection. The authors term this observation photon channelling which we investigate in this article theoretically. We first derive a central relation in the work of Gitting {\em et al.} without any free parameters. It links the photon's path-length fraction $f$ in the liquid phase to the liquid fraction $ε$. We then construct two-dimensional Voronoi foams, replace the cell edges by channels to represent the liquid films and simulate photon paths according to the laws of ray optics using transmission and reflection coefficients from Fresnel's formulas. In an exact honeycomb foam, the photons show superdiffusive behavior. It becomes diffusive as soon as disorder is introduced into the foams. The dependence of the diffusion constant on channel width and refractive index is explained by a one-dimensional random-walk model. It contains a photon channelling state that is crucial for the understanding of the numerical results. At the end, we shortly comment on the observation that photon channelling only occurs in a finite range of $ε$.

cond-mat.soft↗