Two-dimensional melting under quenched disorder

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Aug 30;111(9):098301. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.098301. Epub 2013 Aug 27.

Abstract

We study the influence of quenched disorder on the two-dimensional melting behavior of superparamagnetic colloidal particles, using both video microscopy and computer simulations of repulsive parallel dipoles. Quenched disorder is introduced by pinning a fraction of the particles to an underlying substrate. We confirm the occurrence of the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young scenario and observe an intermediate hexatic phase. While the fluid-hexatic transition remains largely unaffected by disorder, the hexatic-solid transition shifts to lower temperatures with increasing disorder. This results in a significantly broadened stability range of the hexatic phase. In addition, we observe spatiotemporal critical(like) fluctuations, which are consistent with the continuous character of the phase transitions. Characteristics of first-order transitions are not observed.