Bound state of dimers on a spherical surface

TL;DR

This paper investigates the binding energy of dimers on spherical surfaces, revealing a maximum at a specific sphere radius, which has implications for understanding particle interactions on curved nanostructures.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of dimer binding energies on spherical surfaces, highlighting the dependence on sphere radius and particle type.

Findings

Maximum binding energy occurs at sphere radius ~3/4 of particle diameter

Binding energy varies significantly with sphere radius

Results are relevant for adsorption phenomena on nanostructures

Abstract

The study of particle motion on spherical surfaces is relevant to adsorption on buckyballs and other solid particles. This paper reports results for the binding energy of such dimers, consisting of two light particles (He atoms or hydrogen molecules) constrained to move on a spherical surface. The binding energy reaches a particularly large value when the radius of the sphere is about 3/4 of the particles' diameter.