SHAPE OF HEXATIC DOMAINS OF A 2-DIMENSIONAL LENNARD-JONES SYSTEM

Abstract

We determine the shape of an hexatic inclusion surrounded by an isotropic medium using the Wulff construction to obtain the minimal surface energy. The thermodynamic states (hexagonal solid and hexatic and liquid phases) are obtained via Monte Carlo simulations in the NVT ensemble, and the surface energy as a function of orientation is derived from the general Gibbs formulation. We find that the shape of the hexatic domain changes with temperature from an irregular hexagon to a shape where more facets are developed, becoming closer to a circular one.