Evanescent high pressure during hypersonic cluster-surface impact characterized by the virial theorem

A. Gross, R. D. Levine*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Matter under extreme conditions can be generated by a collision of a hypersonic cluster with a surface. The ultra-high-pressure interlude lasts only briefly from the impact until the cluster shatters. We discuss the theoretical characterization of the pressure using the virial theorem and develop a constrained molecular-dynamics procedure to compute it. The simulations show that for rare-gas clusters the pressures reach the megabar range. The contribution to the pressure from momentum transfer is comparable in magnitude and is of the same sign as that ("the internal pressure") due to repulsive interatomic forces. The scaling of the pressure with the reduced mechanical variables is derived and validated with reference to the simulations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number194307
JournalJournal of Chemical Physics
Volume123
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Nov 2005

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