Motion of a free-standing graphene sheet induced by a collision with an argon nanocluster: Analyses of the deflection and the heat-up of the graphene

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to analyze how a free-standing graphene sheet responds to an argon nanocluster impact, focusing on deflection and heating, and compares results with elastic theory and dissipation principles.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of graphene's dynamic response to nanocluster impact, including deflection and temperature evolution, with theoretical comparisons.

Findings

Deflection propagates isotropically as a wave.

Linear elasticity theory semi-quantitatively describes deflection.

Early temperature evolution aligns with least dissipation principle.

Abstract

Nanocluster impact on a free-standing graphene is performed by the molecular dynamics simulation, and the dynamical motion of the free-standing graphene is investigated. The graphene is bended by the incident nanocluster, and a transverse deflection wave isotropically propagated in the graphene is observed. We find that the time evolution of the deflection is semi-quantitatively described by the linear theory of elasticity. We also analyze the time evolution of the temperature profile of the graphene, and the analysis based on the least dissipation principle reproduces the result in the early stage of impact.