Reduction of the reflected pressure wave in the molecular-dynamics simulation of energetic particle-solid collisions

Abstract
The collision of an energetic, heavy particle with a solid generates a pressure wave. This leads to a difficulty in modeling the collision by molecular dynamics, as the wave is reflected at the boundary of the necessarily finite simulation zone, making any long-term prediction unreliable. A method has been developed that can drastically reduce the amplitude of the reflected wave. The impact region is described by a realistic potential that is embedded into a much larger harmonic system having the same elastic properties. The high-frequency response is corrected by an additional damping. Using this scheme the impact of an energetic copper cluster onto a copper surface was simulated. The final shape of the surface differed significantly from the outcome of the simulation using conventional Langevin molecular dynamics.

This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit: