A molecular dynamics study of the evaporation of small argon clusters

✍ Scribed by C. Rey; L.J. Gallego; M.P. Iñiguez; J.A. Alonso

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 249 KB
• Volume: 179
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-4526
• DOI: 10.1016/0921-4526(92)90626-4

✦ Synopsis

Using constant energy molecular dynamics simulations, we have studied the evaporation of atoms from most of the Lennard-Jones clusters in the size range N= 11-20. It is found that, for a given evaporation rate, the 13-and 19-atom clusters need greater kinetic energy for an atom to be evaporated than the clusters of neighbouring sizes, i.e. they are more stable ("magic number" behaviour). We have also calculated the binding energies of the evaporated atoms for the neutral clusters studied; the results are compatible with available information for ionized argon clusters, although detailed comparison between results for neutral and ionized inert gas clusters is highly non-trivial.