Related papers: Shaking-induced crystallization of dense sphere pa…
Cluster growth in a coagulating system of active particles (such as microswimmers in a solvent) is studied by theory and simulation. In contrast to passive systems, the net velocity of a cluster can have various scalings dependent on the…
We study numerically the crystallization of a hard-sphere mixture with 8\% polydispersity. Although often used as a model glass former, for small system sizes we observe crystallization in molecular dynamics simulations. This opens the…
We study the self-organization of spherical particles in an oscillating flow through experiments inside an oscillating box. The interactions between the particles and the time-averaged (steady streaming) flow lead to the formation of either…
Colloids are rarely perfectly uniform but follow a distribution of sizes, shapes, and charges. This dispersity can be inherent (static) or develop and change over time (dynamic). Despite a long history of research, the conditions under…
We approximate a 2D Ising spin glass by tiling an infinite square lattice with large identical unit cells. The interactions within the unit cell are random. Each such sample shows one or more critical points. We examine the scaling of the…
Studies of random close packing of spheres have advanced our knowledge about the structure of systems such as liquids, glasses, emulsions, granular media, and amorphous solids. When these systems are confined their structural properties…
Despite its fundamental and technological importance, a microscopic understanding of the crystallization process is still elusive. By computer simulations of the hard-sphere model we reveal the mechanism by which thermal fluctuations drive…
We present an efficient Monte Carlo method for the lattice sphere packing problem in d dimensions. We use this method to numerically discover de novo the densest lattice sphere packing in dimensions 9 through 20. Our method goes beyond…
We investigate ordering properties of two-dimensional granular materials using several shapes created by welding ball bearings together. Ordered domains form much more easily in two than in three dimensions, even when configurations lack…
Homogeneous nucleation process of polyethylene (PE) is studied with full-atom molecular dynamic simulation. To account the complex shape with low symmetry and the peculiar intra-chain conformational order of polymer, we introduce a shape…
We examine the effect of vacancies on the phase behavior and structure of systems consisting of hard cubes using event-driven molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations. We find a first-order phase transition between a fluid and a…
The discrete Gaussian model for the surface of a crystal deposited on a disordered substrate is studied by Monte Carlo simulations. A continuous transition is found from a phase with a thermally-induced roughness to a glassy one in which…
Crystals form regular and robust structures that under extreme conditions can melt and recrystallize into different arrangements in a process that is called crystal metamorphism. While crystals exist due to the breaking of a continuous…
A collection of thin structures buckle, bend, and bump into each-other when confined. This contact can lead to the formation of patterns: hair will self-organize in curls; DNA strands will layer into cell nuclei; paper, when crumpled, will…
The scattering of coherent X-rays from dynamically evolving systems is currently becoming experimentally feasible. The scattered beam produces a pattern of bright and dark speckles, which fluctuate almost independently in time and can be…
We study clustering in a stochastic system of particles sliding down a fluctuating surface in one and two dimensions. In steady state, the density-density correlation function is a scaling function of separation and system size.This scaling…
Compact stars above a critical stellar mass develop large scalar fields in some scalar-tensor theories. This scenario, called spontaneous scalarization, has been an intense topic of study since it passes weak-field gravity tests naturally…
We study random dense packings of Heisenberg dipoles by numerical simulation. The dipoles are at the centers of identical spheres that occupy fixed random positions in space and fill a fraction $\Phi$ of the spatial volume. The parameter…
Since the 1920s, packing arguments have been used to rationalize crystal structures in systems ranging from atomic mixtures to colloidal crystals. Packing arguments have recently been applied to complex nanoparticle structures, where they…
We study properties of jammed packings of frictionless spheres over a wide range of volume fractions. There exists a crossover volume fraction which separates deeply jammed solids from marginally jammed solids. In deeply jammed solids, all…