Optimizing Hyperuniformity in Self-Assembled Bidisperse Emulsions

Phys Rev Lett. 2017 Nov 17;119(20):208001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.208001. Epub 2017 Nov 15.

Abstract

We study long range density fluctuations (hyperuniformity) in two-dimensional jammed packings of bidisperse droplets. Taking advantage of microfluidics, we systematically span a large range of size and concentration ratios of the two droplet populations. We identify various defects increasing long range density fluctuations mainly due to organization of local particle environment. By choosing an appropriate bidispersity, we fabricate materials with a high level of hyperuniformity. Interesting transparency properties of these optimized materials are established based on numerical simulations.