Stimulus dependence of the collective vibration of atoms in an icosahedral cluster

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics to show that the collective vibrations in a Lennard-Jones 147-atom cluster are highly dependent on the size of the initial disturbance, affecting their decay and energy stability.

Contribution

It demonstrates how the magnitude of mechanical disturbance influences the relaxation and stability of collective atomic vibrations in a cluster.

Findings

Larger perturbations lead to faster decay of vibrations.

Vibration stability is sensitive to the extent of initial disturbance.

Energy dissipation rates vary with stimulus size.

Abstract

Molecular dynamics calculations of the vibrational behavior of atoms in a Lennard-Jones 147-atom cluster revealed that the relaxation and the stability of the collective vibration of atoms in the cluster depend on the extent of the mechanical disturbance. A relatively larger-scale perturbation will cause a faster decay of the vibration magnitude, the potential and the kinetic energy compared to the vibration stimulated by a small-scale stimulus.