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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Core-melted clusters

subject

description

The possibility of the existence of a core-melted cluster is investigated. To this end, a pair potential is introduced, with the property that the solid state of the cluster is less dense than the liquid state. With this kind of potential, the cluster exhibits a quite unusual behavior. In addition to the known states, solid, liquid, and surface-melted, it can also be found in a “dense-liquid” phase (a disordered state appearing at low temperatures), a “core-melted” phase, and a “core-surface-melted” phase. In the core-melted phase, the external part of the cluster consists of atoms that are vibrating around regular crystalline sites, while the core atoms have much bigger mobility, sometimes exhibiting a diffusive motion. The phase diagrams for different parameters that enter in the model potential are analyzed.