Orientational order and formation of topological defects in two-dimensional systems

Abstract

The formation dynamics of topological defects and the orientational order in nonideal systems of particles interacting with a screened Coulomb potential is numerically simulated. Calculations are performed in a broad range of parameters corresponding to experimental conditions in a laboratory dusty plasma. A relation is obtained between the number of defects, the shape of the orientational correlation function, and the coupling parameter of the system. New approximations are proposed for the orientational correlation function in the liquid and hexatic phases of structures analyzed.