title: Nucleation barriers for the liquid-to-crystal transition in Ni: experiment and simulation.
abstract: Nucleation in undercooled Ni is investigated by a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. By systematically varying the sample size in the DSC experiments, nucleation rates J over a range of 8 orders of magnitude are obtained. Evidence is given that these rates correspond to homogeneous nucleation. Free energy barriers ΔG*, as extracted from the measured J, are in very good agreement with those from the MC simulation. The MC simulation indicates a nonspherical geometry of crystalline clusters, fluctuating between prolate and oblate shape at a given size. Nevertheless, the temperature dependence of ΔG* is well described by classical nucleation theory.
authors: Institut für Materialphysik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Wilhelm Klemm-Str. 10, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Bokeloh
authors: R E
authors: RE
authors: Rozas
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Horbach
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Wilde