Reentrant Transitions in a Mixture of Small and Big Particles Interacting via Soft Repulsive Potential

Abstract

We report the first observation of temperature-controlled reentrant transition in simulations of mixtures of small and big particles interacting via soft repulsive potential in 2D. As temperature increases, the system passes from a fluid mixture, to a crystal of big particles in a fluid of small particles and back to a fluid mixture. Solidification is driven by entropy gain of small particles which overcomes the free energy cost of confining big ones. Melting results from enhanced interpenetration of particles at high temperature which reduces the entropic forces that stabilize the crystal.