An ordered structure for binary mixtures of rare gas atoms from numerical simulation

Simulations of clusters formed with equal proportions of Ar and Kr atoms suggest that under certain conditions a regular CsCl structure will be formed on cooling. Comparison with similar studies of pure Kr systems, both as clusters and in the bulk, strengthens the reliability of these model calculations. Whether the proposed CsCl structure can actually form is presented as a challenge to the experimentalists, especially those doing molecular beam experiments. The formation of the CsCl structure by slow annealing has been the most successful, but considerable order is apparent even when the liquid cluster undergoes a very rapid quench.