NSF Research Experiences
for Undergraduates
Simulation and Visualization of Small ParticlesClusters of atoms of diverse size ranges are important in fields ranging from nanophysics to astrophysics. For example, nanocrystals may have structures that differ from macroscopic systems and their understanding has important implications for a host of developing technological applications. On the astrophysics front, the nature of dust particles in the galactic interstellar medium is important for understanding such diverse phenomena as optical spectral lines or the formation of molecules in galactic hydrogen clouds. Characterizing the physical and chemical properties of small particles will be one of the most important and exciting fields of physics in the 21st century.
The REU student will make small modifications to Monte Carlo codes we have recently developed. These codes for thin semiconductor films specifically allow the study of small particles. Using different empirical potentials, the student will determine what configurations actually provide the lowest free energy and should thus be realized in nature. The student will also develop simple applications of existing visualization codes to allow us to "see" the resulting distributions of atoms and, in particular, the nature of the surfaces. This research would interface strongly with the efforts of other REU students described in this proposal who are using density functional theory or who are examining the observational properties of interstellar dust using observational techniques.