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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Thermodynamics of water octamer in a uniform electric field
Javier Hernández-Rojas1, Briesta S González, Tim James
1Departamento de Física Fundamental II, Universidad de La Laguna, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. jhrojas@ull.es
Abstract:
We study the water octamer in a uniform electric field using the all-exchanges parallel tempering Monte Carlo method in the canonical ensemble. The heat capacity, quenched energy configurations, and the order parameter Q(4) are employed to understand the phase changes observed as a function of temperature and the strength of the applied electric field. At a low field strength of 0.1 V A(-1) a solidlike to liquidlike "melting" transition is detected. The corresponding heat capacity peak appears around 206 K, where Q(4) shows a significant change of slope. For E> or =0.5 V A(-1) such features are absent. However, at E=0.5 V A(-1) we find a solidlike to solidlike transition between cubic and extended structures around T approximately 25 K.
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