# Turbulent route to two-dimensional soft crystals

## TL;DR

This study explores how two-dimensional turbulent flows induce a crystalline phase in soft granular particles, revealing a sharp transition influenced by flow dynamics and inter-particle forces.

## Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of a crystalline phase in soft particles under turbulence, highlighting the role of Stokes number and inter-particle interactions in phase transition.

## Key findings

- Sharp transition between crystalline and non-crystalline phases as a function of Stokes number
- Distinct preferential concentration behavior compared to flows without repulsive interactions
- Quantitative measures of phase using bond order parameter and density fluctuations

## Abstract

We investigate the effects of a two-dimensional, incompressible, turbulent flow on mono-disperse soft granular particles and show the emergence of a crystalline phase due to the interplay of Stokesian drag (measured through the Stokes number) and short-range inter-particle interactions. We quantify this phase through the bond order parameter and local density fluctuations and find a sharp transition between the crystalline and non-crystalline phase as a function of the Stokes number. Furthermore, the nature of preferential concentration, as characterised by the radial distribution function and the correlation dimension $D_2$, is significantly different from that of particle-laden flows in the absence of repulsive potentials.