Formation of defects in multirow Wigner crystals

TL;DR

This paper investigates the structural evolution and defect formation in multirow Wigner crystals confined transversely, revealing phase transitions, defect types, and the instability of regular structures beyond nine rows.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of defect formation and phase transitions in multirow Wigner crystals, including a simplified model for stability limits.

Findings

Up to four rows, the crystal remains regular.

Five-row crystals exhibit defects in certain density regimes.

No stable regular structures beyond nine rows.

Abstract

We study the structural properties of a quasi-one-dimensional classical Wigner crystal, confined in the transverse direction by a parabolic potential. With increasing density, the one-dimensional crystal first splits into a zigzag crystal before progressively more rows appear. While up to four rows the ground state possesses a regular structure, five-row crystals exhibit defects in a certain density regime. We identify two phases with different types of defects. Furthermore, using a simplified model, we show that beyond nine rows no stable regular structures exist.