Crystal nucleation in the hard sphere system

The structure and growth of crystal nuclei that spontaneously form during computer simulations of the simplest nontrivial model of a liquid, the hard sphere system, is described in this work. Compact crystal nuclei are observed to form at densities within the coexistence region of the phase diagram....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2003-02, Vol.90 (8), p.085702-085702, Article 085702
Main Authors: O'Malley, Brendan, Snook, Ian
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The structure and growth of crystal nuclei that spontaneously form during computer simulations of the simplest nontrivial model of a liquid, the hard sphere system, is described in this work. Compact crystal nuclei are observed to form at densities within the coexistence region of the phase diagram. The nuclei possess a range of morphologies with a predominance of multiply twinned particles possessing in some cases a significant decahedral character. However the multiply twinned particles do not form from an initial decahedral core but appear to nucleate as blocks of a face-centered cubic crystal partially bounded by stacking faults.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.90.085702