Extraordinary manifestation of near electrostatic field caused by macroscopic quantum shell effects in submicron hemispherical clusters

TL;DR

This paper reveals that hemispherical metal nanoclusters exhibit a strong electrostatic field due to quantum shell effects, a phenomenon not observed in spherical clusters, with potential broad scientific applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of a significant electrostatic field caused by quantum shell effects in hemispherical metal clusters, extending understanding beyond spherical models.

Findings

Electrostatic field of ~10^8 V/m near hemispherical clusters

Quantum shell effects induce large-scale electron density inhomogeneity

Hemispherical shape breaks spherical symmetry, enabling long-range fields

Abstract

The existence of macroscopic shell structure of submicron metal clusters is known for several decades. Since the most studies provide theoretical analysis for clusters of spherical shape, the electron density inhomogeneities caused by shell effects are spherically symmetric and do not provide long range electrostatic fields. However, similar shell structure should exist in a hemispherical cluster which conserves the closed periodic orbits of electrons, but not the spherical symmetry of electron distribution. As a result, we demonstrate that a strong electrostatic field ($E \sim 10^8$~V/m) exists in the vicinity of the flat surface of an isolated, uncharged metal nanocluster of hemispherical shape using modern approaches for electronic structure evaluation. This physical phenomenon is a consequence of the large-scale spatial inhomogeneity in distribution of electrons related to quantum shell effects in submicron metal clusters, which may find numerous applications in various fields of science and technology.