Eur. Phys. J. D 24, 249-252 (2003)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2003-00148-y

The structure of mixed nitrogen-argon clusters

A comparison of simulation results with experimental electron diffraction patterns

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5706, USA
² Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Bâtiment 510, Université de Paris-Sud, Orsay, France

Corresponding author: ^a amar@maine.edu

Received: 10 September 2002
Published online: 3 July 2003

Abstract

Using realistic pair potentials, we investigate the structures of mixed clusters of argon and nitrogen in order to interpret the experimental electron diffraction patterns reported by the Torchet group. Simulations of small clusters indicate that argon tends to segregate at the center of the clusters. For larger clusters, in the range of 50 to 200 molecules, MC methods have been used to simulate structures that are likely to be generated in the molecular beam. By comparing predicted electron diffraction patterns with those recorded in the experiments, our models allow us to estimate the average size and composition of the mixed clusters for a given set of experimental conditions (nozzle stagnation pressure and Ar partial pressure).