Cebers A.
Description:
The phase diagram of a magnetic colloid in a Hele-Shaw cell is calculated. As a function of the magnetic field strength, of the concentration and of the layer thickness the magnetic colloid can find itself in a stripe phase, the hexagonal phase or in an unmodulated state. Those results allow to interpret experiments observing the transformation of a labyrinthine pattern into a hexagonal structure. This possibility is confirmed directly by the numerical simulation presented here and showing the transformation of the labyrinthine pattern into the hexagonal structure.