Influence of the softness of the repulsive core interaction on cluster melting

Abstract

The influence of the softness of the repulsive core of the pair interaction on the melting behavior of small clusters was studied by molecular-dynamics simulation of clusters in which particles interact through pairwise additive, inverse-power-based potentials. The potentials used had minima of the same depth and position and were identical beyond the minimum, differing only in the softness of the repulsive core. Core softness was found to favor a two-step cluster melting process.