Pinning and Dynamics of Colloids on One Dimensional Periodic Potentials

Abstract

Using numerical simulations we study the pinning and dynamics of interacting colloids on periodic one-dimensional substrates. As a function of colloid density, temperature, and substrate strength, we find a variety of pinned and dynamic states including pinned smectic, pinned buckled, two-phase flow, and moving partially ordered structures. We show that for increasing colloid density, peaks in the depinning threshold occur at commensurate states. The scaling of the pinning threshold versus substrate strength changes when the colloids undergo a transition from one-dimensional chains to a buckled configuration.