Two-Dimensional Melting Far from Equilibrium in a Granular Monolayer

J. S. Olafsen and J. S. Urbach

Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 098002 – Published 26 August 2005

Abstract

We report an experimental investigation of the transition from a hexagonally ordered solid phase to a disordered liquid in a monolayer of vibrated spheres. The transition occurs as the intensity of the vibration amplitude is increased. Measurements of the density of dislocations and the positional and orientational correlation functions show evidence for a dislocation-mediated continuous transition from a solid phase with long-range order to a liquid with only short-range order. The results show a strong similarity to simulations of melting of hard disks in equilibrium, despite the fact that the granular monolayer is far from equilibrium due to the effects of interparticle dissipation and the vibrational forcing.

Received 21 December 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.098002

Authors & Affiliations

J. S. Olafsen^1,* and J. S. Urbach^2,†

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA
²Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, USA

^*Electronic address: jolafsen@ku.edu
^†Electronic address: urbach@physics.georgetown.edu

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Vol. 95, Iss. 9 — 26 August 2005

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