Origin of rebounds with a restitution coefficient larger than unity in nanocluster collisions

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to explore why nanoclusters sometimes rebound with a restitution coefficient greater than one, revealing the roles of temperature, entropy, and initial structure in these super rebounds.

Contribution

It uncovers the mechanism behind super rebounds in nanocluster collisions, emphasizing the importance of initial metastable structures, which was not previously understood.

Findings

Temperature and entropy decrease after super rebounds.

Initial metastable structures are crucial for super rebounds.

Super rebounds occur with restitution coefficients larger than one.

Abstract

We numerically investigate the mechanism of super rebounds for head-on collisions between nanoclusters in which the restitution coefficient is larger than unity. It is confirmed that the temperature and the entropy of the nanocluters decrease after the super rebounds by our molecular dynamics simulations. It is also found that the initial metastable structure plays a key role for the emergence of the super rebounds.