Structural crossover in a model fluid exhibiting two length scales: Repercussions for quasicrystal formation

M. C. Walters, P. Subramanian, A. J. Archer, R. Evans

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We investigate the liquid state structure of the two-dimensional model introduced by Barkan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 098304 (2014)10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.098304], which exhibits quasicrystalline and other unusual solid phases, focusing on the radial distribution function g(r) and its asymptotic decay r→. For this particular model system, we find that as the density is increased there is a structural crossover from damped oscillatory asymptotic decay with one wavelength to damped oscillatory asymptotic decay with another distinct wavelength. The ratio of these wavelengths is ≈1.932. Following the locus in the phase diagram of this structural crossover leads directly to the region where quasicrystals are found. We argue that identifying and following such a crossover line in the phase diagram towards higher densities where the solid phase(s) occur is a good strategy for finding quasicrystals in a wide variety of systems. We also show how the pole analysis of the asymptotic decay of equilibrium fluid correlations is intimately connected with the nonequilibrium growth or decay of small-amplitude density fluctuations in a bulk fluid.

Original languageEnglish
Article number012606
Number of pages12
JournalPhysical Review E
Volume98
Issue number1
Early online date19 Jul 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2018

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