Related papers: Solid-liquid phase coexistence and structural tran…
We have used molecular dynamics simulations to construct a microcanonical caloric curve for a 1415-atom Ni icosahedron. Prior to melting the Ni cluster exhibits static solid-liquid phase coexistence. Initially a partial icosahedral…
We conduct molecular dynamics simulations of 887 and 1389-atom decahedral platinum nanoparticles using an embedded atom potential. By constructing microcanonical caloric curves, we identify structural transitions from decahedral to fcc in…
The morphology transition from the thermodynamically favorable to the unfavorable phase during growth of free-standing copper nanoclusters is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. We give a detailed description of the kinetics and…
In recent experiments on sodium chloride clusters structural transitions between nanocrystals with different cuboidal shapes were detected. Here we presents results for the thermodynamics and dynamics of one of these clusters, (NaCl)35Cl-.…
The freezing behavior of gold nanoclusters was studied by employing molecular dynamics simulations based on a semi-empirical embedded-atom method. Investigations of the gold nanoclusters revealed that, just after freezing, ordered…
We use molecular dynamics simulations to study the melting of gold icosahedral clusters of a few thousand atoms. We pay particular attention to the behavior of surface atoms, and to the equilibrium shape of the cluster. We find that…
Thermal stability properties and the melting-like transition of Na_n, n=13-147, clusters are studied through microcanonical molecular dynamics simulations. The metallic bonding in the sodium clusters is mimicked by a many-body Gupta…
Microcanonical critical droplet theory and molecular dynamics simulations are used to examine static coexistence between solid and liquid phases in nanoscale lead clusters. It is shown that the theory predicts the existence of a metastable…
In recent experiments on sodium chloride clusters structural transitions between nanocrystals with different cuboidal shapes were detected. Here we determine reaction pathways between the low energy isomers of one of these clusters,…
Molecular dynamics simulations of nanometer-sized lead clusters have been performed using the Lim, Ong and Ercolessi glue potential (Surf. Sci. {\bf 269/270}, 1109 (1992)). The binding energies of clusters forming crystalline (fcc),…
Monte Carlo computer simulations of a quasi two dimensional (2D) dipolar fluid at low and intermediate densities indicate that the structure of the fluid is well described by an ideal mixture of self-assembling clusters. A detailed analysis…
Forced granular matter in confined geometries presents phase transitions and coexistence. Depending on the system and forcing parameters, liquid-vapor and liquid-solid co-existing states are possible. For the solid-liquid coexistence that…
We consider a system of spherical particles interacting by means of a pair potential equal to a finite constant for interparticle distances smaller than the sphere diameter and zero outside. The model may be a prototype for the interaction…
Gels in soft-matter systems are an important nonergodic state of matter. We study a colloid-polymer mixture which is quenched by increasing the polymer concentration, from a fluid to a gel. Using confocal microscopy, we study both the…
Monodisperse ensembles of particles that have cluster crystalline phases at low temperatures can model a number of physical systems, such as vortices in type-1.5 superconductors, colloidal suspensions and cold atoms. In this work we study a…
We report simulations on the homogeneous liquid-fcc nucleation of charged colloids for both low and high contact energy values. As a precursor for crystal formation, we observe increased local order at the position where the crystal will…
In this paper we have explored computationally the solidification process of large nickel clusters. This process has the characteristic features of the first order phase transition occurring in a finite system. The focus of our research is…
The role of saturation for cluster formation in finite systems such as atomic nuclei is analyzed by considering three length-scale ratios, and performing deformation-constrained self-consistent mean-field calculations. The effect of…
We study the low-temperature behavior of a simple cluster-crystal forming system through simulation. The phase behavior is found to be hybrid between the Gaussian core and penetrable sphere models. The system additionally exhibits a series…
In a cluster crystal, each lattice site is occupied by multiple soft-core particles. As the number density is increased at zero temperature, a `cascade' of isostructural phase transitions can occur between states whose site occupancy…