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Observation of the fcc-to-hcp Transition in Ensembles of Argon Nanoclusters

N. V. Krainyukova, R. E. Boltnev, E. P. Bernard, V. V. Khmelenko, D. M. Lee, and V. Kiryukhin
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 245505 – Published 13 December 2012
Physics logo See Synopsis: Looking for Atoms that Pack By the Rules
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Abstract

Macroscopic ensembles of weakly interacting argon nanoclusters are studied using x-ray diffraction in low vacuum. As the clusters grow by fusion with increasing temperature, their structure transforms from essentially face-centered cubic (fcc) to hexagonal close packed as the cluster size approaches 105 atoms. The transformation involves intermediate orthorhombic phases. These data confirm extant theoretical predictions. They also indicate that growth kinetics and spatial constraints might play an important role in the formation of the fcc structure of bulk rare-gas solids, which still remains puzzling.

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  • Received 11 September 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.245505

© 2012 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Looking for Atoms that Pack By the Rules

Published 13 December 2012

Finding the most energetically favorable crystal structure of closed-shell atoms is a long-standing problem where experiment and theory don’t agree, but a study of argon nanoclusters is providing new insight into the discrepancy.

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Authors & Affiliations

N. V. Krainyukova1, R. E. Boltnev2, E. P. Bernard3,*, V. V. Khmelenko4, D. M. Lee4, and V. Kiryukhin5,†

  • 1B. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 47 Lenin Avenue, Kharkov 61103, Ukraine
  • 2Branch of Institute of Energy Problems of Chemical Physics, Chernogolovka, Moscow Region 142432, Russia
  • 3Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
  • 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77845, USA
  • 5Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA

  • *Present address: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
  • vkir@physics.rutgers.edu

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Issue

Vol. 109, Iss. 24 — 14 December 2012

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