Sputtering of water ice induced by C60 bombardment: onset of plume formation.
The interaction of a 5 keV C(60) projectile with amorphous water ice is studied using molecular dynamics computer simulations. The energetic C(60) molecule causes large-scale collisional events in the subsurface region, involving more than 10(4) water molecules in a time of less than 3 ps. The energy deposited in the sample is sufficiently large to turn the ice into a superheated and superdense gas. The gas is expelled into the vacuum, leading to the formation of a flow that manifests itself in the angular and velocity distributions of emitted water molecules.
Wojciechowski
I A
IA
Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Garrison
B J
BJ