title: Theoretical evidence for a first-order liquid-liquid phase transition in gallium.
abstract: We report on theoretical results that lend support to recent experimental observations suggesting the existence of a first-order liquid-liquid phase transformation (LLPT) in gallium. Using molecular dynamics simulation based on a modified embedded-atom model, we observe a transition from a high-density to a low-density liquid in the supercooled regime. The first-order character of the transition is established through the detection of the release of latent heat and our findings suggest that the LLPT terminates in a critical point that is located in the tensile-strained domain of the metastable phase diagram.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Caixa Postal 6165, 13083-970 Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diego Alejandro
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Carvajal Jara
authors.forename: Mateus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fontana Michelon
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antonelli
authors.forename: Maurice
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Koning
mesh_terms: D003080:Cold Temperature; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005708:Gallium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D044367:Phase Transition
chemical_list: D005708:Gallium