English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Using concepts from classical density functional theory (DFT) we investigatethe freezing of a two-dimensional (2D) system of ultra-soft particles in aone-dimensional (1D) external potential; a phenomenon often calledlaser-induced freezing (LIF). In the first part of the paper, we presentnumerical results from free minimization of a mean-field density functional fora system of particles interacting via the GEM-4 potential. We show that thesystem does indeed display a LIF transition, although the interaction potentialis markedly different from the cases studied before. We also show that one mayconsider the (suitably defined) effective density within the potential wells,$\bar{\rho}_{\text{eff}}$, as a control parameter of LIF, rather than theamplitude of the external potential as in the common LIF scenario. In thesecond part, we suggest a new theoretical description of the onset of LIF whichbases on the pressure balance equation relating the pressure tensor and theexternal potential. Evaluating this equation for the modulated liquid phase ateffective density $\bar{\rho}_{\text{eff}}$ and combining it with the (known)stability threshold of the corresponding bulk fluid, we can predict thecritical effective density or, equivalently, the potential amplitude related tothe onset of LIF. Our approach yields very good results for the model at hand,and it is transferable, in principle, to other model systems.

Freezing of a soft-core fluid in a one-dimensional potential: Predictions based on a pressure-balance equation