On the possible "supersolid" character of parahydrogen clusters
Abstract
We present results of a theoretical study of structural and superfluid properties of parahydrogen clusters comprising 25, 26 and 27 molecules at low temperature. The microscopic model utilized here is based on the Silvera-Goldman pair potential. Numerical results are obtained by means of Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, making use of the continuous-space Worm Algorithm. The clusters are superfluid in the low temperature limit, but display markedly different physical behaviours. For N=25 and 27, superfluidity at low temperature arises as clusters melt, i.e., become progressively liquid-like as a result of quantum effects. On the other hand, for N = 26 the cluster remains rigid and solid-like. We argue that this cluster can be regarded as a mesoscopic "supersolid". This physical picture is supported by results of simulations in which a single parahydrogen molecule in the cluster is isotopically substituted.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1101.5054,
title = {On the possible "supersolid" character of parahydrogen clusters},
author = {Fabio Mezzacapo and Massimo Boninsegni},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1101.5054},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
18 pages, 7 figures