Colloidal ordering on a 2D quasicrystalline substrate

Phys Rev Lett. 2008 Nov 21;101(21):218302. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.218302. Epub 2008 Nov 18.

Abstract

By using Monte Carlo simulations, we study the complex phase behavior of charged-stabilized colloidal particles in a two-dimensional substrate potential with quasicrystalline decagonal symmetry. In the regime where the strengths of the substrate and colloidal pair potential are comparable, we identify a novel and unexpected quasicrystalline phase with pure 20-fold bond order and a disordered structure without any apparent rotational symmetry. Furthermore, we demonstrate how phasonic displacements in the substrate potential induce phasonic flips in the colloidal monolayer.