Rearrangement collisions between gold clusters

Collision processes between two gold clusters are investigated using classical molecular dynamics in combination with embedded atom (EA) potentials, after checking the reliability of EA results by contrasting them with first principles calculations. The Au projectiles considered are both single atoms (N=1) and clusters of N=2, 12, 13 and 14 atoms. The targets contain N= 12, 13 and 14 gold atoms. The initial projectile energy E is in the range 0 < E < 1.5 eV/atom. The results of the collision processes are described and analyzed in detail.Comment: LATeX file, 8 figures, uses svjour.cl

Nucleation of superfluid-light domains in a quenched dynamics

Strong correlation effects emerge from light-matter interactions in coupled resonator arrays, such as the Mott-insulator to superfluid phase transition of atom-photon excitations. We demonstrate that the quenched dynamics of a finite-sized complex array of coupled resonators induces a first-order like phase transition. The latter is accompanied by domain nucleation that can be used to manipulate the photonic transport properties of the emerging superfluid phase; this in turn leads to an empirical scaling law. This universal behavior emerges from the light-matter interaction and the topology of the array. The validity of our results over a wide range of complex architectures might lead to to a promising device for use in scaled quantum simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures and supplemental material. Accepted by Scientific Report

Temperature-dependent properties of 147-and 309-atom iron-gold nanoclusters

The properties of several Au-N and AuN-xFex nanoclusters are obtained by means of classical molecular dynamics calculations. In particular we study the configurations Au-147, Au134Fe13, Au-309, and Au254Fe55, which correspond to icosahedral magic numbers, for both the gold and the iron. We investigate the melting and freezing processes, atomic diffusion, hardness, vibration spectra, and specific heat of these nanoclusters. All the data obtained point toward the stability of the AuN-xFex system, with the gold atoms on the outside of the iron core

Internal Rotation of Disilane and Related Molecules:a Density Functional Study

DFT calculations performed on Si_2H_6, Si_2F_6, Si_2Cl_6, and Si_2Br_6 are reported. The evolution of the energy, the chemical potential and the molecular hardness, as a function of torsion angle, is studied. Results at the DFT-B3LYP/6-311++G** level show that the molecules always favor the stable staggered conformations, with low but significant energy barriers that hinder internal rotation. The chemical potential and hardness of Si_2H_6 remains quite constant as the sylil groups rotate around the Si-Si axis, whereas the other systems exhibit different degrees of rearrangement of the electronic density as a function of the torsion angle. A qualitative analysis of the frontier orbitals shows that the effect of torsional motion on electrophilic attack is negligible, whereas this internal rotation may generate different specific mechanisms for nucleophilic attack.Comment: LATeX file, 7 figures, uses elsart.cls, natbib, graphic

Electron-phonon coupling in mixed-valence systems

The electron-phonon interaction in mixed-valence systems is modeled on the basis of an Anderson-like Hamiltonian that describes a cluster of one metallic rare-earth cation surrounded by six anions. Coupling between the electronic and phononic variables is introduced, keeping two different phonon modes: a breathing and an asymmetric mode. The first, related to the ionic radius, is treated exactly. The asymmetric mode, which determines the sd-f hybridization, is dealt with in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. A variety of experimental results are adequately accounted for by this simple model, like the anomalous thermal expansion, the Debye-Waller factor, the phonon softening and broadening, and the charge-distance correlation. © 1991 The American Physical Society