Mixed-order phase transition in a colloidal crystal
Mixed-order phase transitions display a discontinuity in the order parameter like first-order transitions yet feature critical behavior like second-order transitions. Such transitions have been predicted for a broad range of equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems, but their experimental observation...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión aceptada para publicación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2017 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/118933 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/118933 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Transformacions de fase (Física estadística) Fenòmens crítics (Física) Col·loides Phase transformations (Statistical physics) Critical phenomena (Physics) Colloids |
| Sumario: | Mixed-order phase transitions display a discontinuity in the order parameter like first-order transitions yet feature critical behavior like second-order transitions. Such transitions have been predicted for a broad range of equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems, but their experimental observation has remained elusive. Here, we analytically predict and experimentally realize a mixed-order equilibrium phase transition. Specifically, a discontinuous solid-solid transition in a 2D crystal of paramagnetic colloidal particles is induced by a magnetic field HH. At the transition field HsHs, the energy landscape of the system becomes completely flat, which causes diverging fluctuations and correlation length ξ∝|H2−H2s|−1/2ξ∝|H2−Hs2|−1/2. Mean-field critical exponents are predicted, since the upper critical dimension of the transition is du=2du=2. Our colloidal system provides an experimental test bed to probe the unconventional properties of mixed-order phase transitions. |
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