Yukawa System in One-Dimensional External Field

The behavior of the Yukawa system in external one-dimensional force fields is analyzed by the molecular dynamics simulation. The formation of layered structures at low temperatures is observed and the relation between the number of layers and characteristic parameters of the system is obtained. Since the Yukawa system serves as a model of clouds of dust particles in plasmas (dusty plasma) which play an important role in plasma processes of semiconductor engineering, the results may be useful to control the quality of semiconductor wafers in such processes. In simulations, periodic boundary conditions are imposed in two dimensions and deformations of periodic boundaries are allowed in order to reduce the effect of boundaries without giving too much constraint on the symmetry.