Order-disorder transition in a system of magnetic holes

Polystyrene spheres of the same size (10–100μm) dispersed in ferrofluid produce voids, which have been denoted magnetic holes. A two-dimensional system of interacting magnetic holes confined between two glass plates and subject to rotating magnetic fields in the sample plane are studied in a light microscope. For low frequencies of the field rotation, the holes form pairs, which arrange themselves in a regular triangular lattice when stabilized with a weak constant field normal to the sample plane. By increasing the frequency of the rotating field, we observe that above a critical frequency, the steady forward rotation of the pairs is interrupted by backward rotations in short time intervals. Because the intervals of backward rotation occur at different times for each individual pair, disorder is introduced in the system, and the triangular lattice of pairs “melts” and forms a liquid-like structure at high rotation frequencies of the field. This “melting” transition is observed both directly and in light scattering experiments using a laser.