Spatio-temporal correlations in Coulomb clusters

The dynamical responses of Coulomb-interacting particles in two-dimensional nanoclusters are analyzed at different temperatures characterizing their solid- and liquid-like behavior. Depending on the trap symmetry, spatial correlations undergo slow, stretched exponential relaxations at long times, arising from spatially correlated motion in string-like paths. Such results stem from the combined effects of confinement and long-range repulsion, making the systems inherently heterogeneous. While particles in a “solid” flow produce dynamic heterogeneities, motion in “liquid” yields an unusually long tail in the distribution of particle displacements. A phenomenological model captures much of the subtleties of our numerical simulations.