Anisotropic confinement effects in a two-dimensional plasma crystal

The spectral asymmetry of the wave energy distribution of dust particles during mode-coupling induced melting, observed for the first time in plasma crystals by Couedel et al. [Phys. Rev. E 89, 053108 (2014)], is studied theoretically and by molecular-dynamics simulations. It is shown that an anisotropy of the well confining the microparticles selects the directions of preferred particle motion. The observed differences in intensity of waves of opposed directions is explained by a nonvanishing phonon flux. Anisotropic phonon scattering by defects and Umklapp scattering are proposed as possible reasons for the mean phonon flux.