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Colloidal friction

Kinks in motion

Nature Materials volume 11, pages 97–98 (2012)Cite this article

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The ability of laser interference potentials to trap and control colloidal particles opens up a new potential area of 'toy systems' displaying real physics. A beautiful example is the study of friction between colloidal crystals and a variety of artificially created surface potentials.

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Figure 1: Extraordinary substrate geometries obtained by interfering laser beams.
Figure 2: Soliton superstructures of sliding colloidal particles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andrea Vanossi and Erio Tosatti are at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), the CNR-IOM Democritos National Simulation Center, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Strada Costiera 11, 34014 Trieste, Italy,

    Andrea Vanossi & Erio Tosatti

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  1. Andrea Vanossi
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  2. Erio Tosatti
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Correspondence to Andrea Vanossi or Erio Tosatti.

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Vanossi, A., Tosatti, E. Kinks in motion. Nature Mater 11, 97–98 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3229

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