Computer Simulation of Coulomb Explosions in Doubly Charged Xe Microclusters

In recent experiments on doubly charged microclusters of Xe, no ${{\mathrm{Xe}}_n}^{++}$ clusters were observed for $n$ less than 53 atoms. Computer simulations of microclusters have been carried out in which the Xe atoms interact via Lennard-Jones pair potentials and a point polarizability-dipole electrostatic model. From these simulations, it is inferred that ${\mathrm{Xe}}_{51}^{++}$ clusters have lifetimes ∼ 100 ps while ${\mathrm{Xe}}_{55}^{++}$ clusters have lifetimes ∼ 10 μs in agreement with the experimental result that 55-atom clusters are much more stable.