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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Solidification of small p-H2 clusters at zero temperature
1Donostia International Physics Center, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Donostia, Spain.
Abstract:
We have determined the ground-state energies of para-H(2) clusters at zero temperature using the diffusion Monte Carlo method. The liquid or solid character of each cluster is investigated by restricting the phase through the use of proper importance sampling. Our results show inhomogeneous crystallization of clusters, with alternating behavior between liquid and solid phases up to N = 55. From there on, all clusters are solid. The ground-state energies in the range N = 13-75 are established, and the stable phase of each cluster is determined. In spite of the small differences observed between the energy of liquid and solid clusters, the corresponding density profiles are significantly different, a feature that can help to solve ambiguities in the determination of the specific phase of H(2) clusters.
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