Towards Simulation Studies of Crystal Structures for Superellipsoids by Floppy Box Monte Carlo Method
Summary
We will present a simulation technique, by which the crystal structure of superballs
can be analysed. Superballs are particles which can be defined by the
implicit equation |x|ǫ + |y|ǫ + |z|ǫ <= 1, ǫ ∈ [0,∞[. These particles have been
recently synthesized and analyzed by using experiments and simulations [6].
The study of such particles is therefore a hot topic. Using our [10] technique
we have generated crystal structures which can be obtained for spheres and superballs.
Moreover we have studied the relation between pressure and density
in the liquid phase by determining the Equation of State. We also considered
how the structure of the liquid deviates from that of spheres upon changing the
pressure p, by constructing the Radial distribution function. We verified that
the simulation we wrote, functions well within the numerical tolerances required
for physical studies. Finally, our method may be easily extended upon to determine
a phase diagram for superballs, for which the particles may interact with
soft potentials in addition to their hard particle overlap.