A coupling of the transverse fluctuations of an elastic sheet in a shearing solvent is described. When applied to a dilute colloidal crystal under shear it is found to lead to a mechanical instability which results in the continuous decrease in the coherence length of crystalline order in the sliding layers as the shear rate increases. Such behavior has been observed in light-scattering studies of colloidal suspensions.

• Received 13 March 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.42.3427