title: Liquid-liquid phase coexistence in gold clusters: 2D or not 2D?
abstract: The thermodynamics of gold cluster anions (AuN-, N=11,...,14) is investigated using quantum molecular dynamics. Our simulations suggest that AuN- may exhibit a novel, freestanding planar liquid phase which dynamically coexists with a normal three-dimensional liquid. Upon cooling with experimentally realizable cooling rates, the entropy-favored three-dimensional liquid clusters often supercool and solidify into the "wrong" dimensionality. This indicates that experimental validation of theoretically predicted AuN- ground states might be more complicated than hitherto expected.
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoffmechanik IWM, Wöhlerstrasse 11, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koskinen
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Häkkinen
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: von Issendorff
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moseler