Dynamics of melting argon clusters
- Department of Physics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1116 (United States)
With increasing total energy, small atomic clusters show a {ital smooth} transition from a rigid solidlike to a floppy liquidlike {open_quotes}phase.{close_quotes} In certain clusters, depending on their structure and stability, this transition takes place over a finite energy range where both these {open_quotes}phases{close_quotes} coexist in a dynamical sense, whereas in others the transition does not involve a coexistence region and has been called {open_quotes}slushlike.{close_quotes} Previous studies in Ar{sub 13}, which belongs to the first kind, have established the energy variation of maximal Lyapunov exponent (MLE) and the dynamic structure factor (DSF) as {open_quotes}dynamical indicators{close_quotes} of this transition. To understand the general features of these dynamic indicators better, we investigated the dynamic properties of two clusters Ar{sub 19} and Ar{sub 17}. The former is a magic number cluster whose behavior is expected to be similar to Ar{sub 13}, whereas the latter which does not show a coexistence region belongs to the second kind. Ar{sub 19} shows a behavior similar to Ar{sub 13}. In Ar{sub 17}, we find that above the transition but close to it, the DSF still shows features exhibiting the interplay of a {open_quotes}hot solid{close_quotes}and a {open_quotes}cold liquid{close_quotes} as observed in the coexistence region of Ar{sub 13} and Ar{sub 19}. Unlike the bond length fluctuation which exhibits a rapid increase near the transition, the behavior of MLE is rather smooth and it does not serve as a good dynamical indicator of the transition in the Ar{sub 17} system. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
- OSTI ID:
- 470812
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics, Vol. 55, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Regularity in chaotic reaction paths. I. Ar{sub 6}
Structures and dynamical properties of C{sub n}, Si{sub n}, Ge{sub n}, and Sn{sub n} clusters with n up to 13