Structural properties of complex (dusty) plasma upon crystallization and melting |
| |
Authors: | B A Klumov and G E Morfill |
| |
Institution: | 1.Max Planck Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik,Gaiching,Germany;2.Joint Institute for High Temperatures,Russian Academy of Sciences,Moscow,Russia |
| |
Abstract: | A change in the local order of a bounded complex (dusty) plasma in the process of its crystallization and melting has been
examined by molecular dynamics simulations. The dynamics of microparticles is considered in the framework of a Langevin thermostat,
the pair interaction between charged particles is described by a screened Coulomb potential (Yukawa potential) with the hard
wall potential as a confinement. It has been shown that the beginning of the crystallization of such a system is accompanied
by the formation of clusters with the hexagonal close packed (hcp) structure; a noticeable number of these clusters are then
transformed to the face centered cubic (fcc) phase. A plasma crystal formed after crystallization consists of the metastable
hcp phase, fcc clusters, and a small number of clusters with a body centered cubic (bcc) crystal lattice. Beginning with a
certain threshold value of the thermostat temperature, the number of fcc/bcc clusters decreases sharply with increasing temperature,
which is an important signature of the beginning of the melting of the plasma crystal. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|