Global structure optimization study on Au 2-20

The geometries and electronic properties of the most stable small Au_n clusters with n=2 to 20 are presented. An intensive search for low-energy minima of Au_n clusters was carried through using a density-functional tight-binding method combined with genetic algorithms for an unbiased global structure optimization. The structural and energetic properties of the small gold clusters are compared with those of planar Au_n clusters with n=5 to 15.