Melting of two-dimensional deformable particle systems

Two-dimensional melting is an important phase behavior, but the impact of deforma-bility on the solid-liquid transition remains an open question. To address this, we conducted a numerical study of melting in systems of deformable particles with many degrees of freedom. We found that increasing temperature or the shape parameter leads to a transition from solid to liquid, and that the system melts in two steps, with a continuous solid-hexatic transition followed by a first-order hexatic-liquid transition. Our conclusions are supported by observations of the behavior of topological defects. This work presents the complete phase diagram of two-dimensional deformable particle systems, offering insights into the solid-liquid transition in soft matter.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.