Formation and Magic Number Characteristic of Clusters during Rapid Solidification of Mg₂Ca

Abstract

A molecular dynamics simulation study has been performed for a system consisting of 15,000 atoms to investigate the formation and magic number characteristics of various clusters formed during the rapid solidification. Results indicate that the icosahedral cluster (12 0 12 0) plays key role in the glass transition. The size distribution of clusters in the system showing magic number characteristics, and the magic number sequence in the Mg2Ca system is 13, 19, 25, 36, 37, ....This magic number sequence is quite similar with that of the system of metal Al.