Geometrical characterization of hard-sphere systems

Abstract

By using molecular dynamics simulations on a large number of hard spheres and the Vorono\"{\i} tessellation we characterize hard-sphere systems geometrically at any packing fraction \ensuremath{\eta} along the different branches of the phase diagram. Crystallization of disordered packings occurs only for a small range of packing fraction. For the other packing fractions the system behaves as either a fluid (stable or metastable) or a glass. We have studied the evolution of the statistics of the Vorono\"{\i} tessellation during crystallization and characterized the apparition of order by an order parameter ${(Q}_{6})$ built from spherical harmonics.