The structure of binary clusters

The basic types of structures that can be formed for monoatomic clusters are now well-established. For example, Lennard-Jones clusters provide a well-characterized archetypal model for systems with isotropic interactions. However, the situation for binary clusters is potentially more challenging, and the new types of structures that can be stabilized by the presence of two atom types are only beginning to be mapped out.

This project, building on technical developments that have been achieved in the group, will explore binary Lennard-Jones clusters as a potential archetypal system for understanding the structure of binary clusters. Applications to particularly interesting binary metal systems would also be performed. A couple of particularly stable, and symmetric clusters are illustrated above.

• J.P.K. Doye and L. Meyer, submitted
  The structure of binary Lennard-Jones clusters: The effects of atomic size ratio
• J.P.K. Doye and L. Meyer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 063401 (2005)
  Mapping the magic numbers in binary Lennard-Jones clusters