Confined planar mesoscopic suspensions in external field: Brownian dynamics simulations Original Research Article

The 2D solid structure of planar particles in an external (gravitational) field is investigated using the Brownian dynamics technique. The particles interact via a long range Yukawa potential and are confined to a semi-infinite rectangular tube. A new type of ‘arc-like’ structure is discovered which is shown to be the stable solid structure for this system in a domain of external field strength and width of the confining container. The possibility of forming arc-like structures for confined mesoscopic systems (e.g., sedimenting colloidal liquids) is also discussed.