Microscopic Motion of Atoms in Simple Liquids at Equilibrium and with Shear Flow

Abstract

We investigate the microscopic mechanism of atomic motion and local stress relaxation in Lennard-Jones, LJ liquids using a new class of correlation functions that emphasise the interplay between an abitrary atom in the fluid and its surrounding shells of atoms. We use the linear momenta and stress tensor to characterise the time dependence of this interaction. We consider a series of correlation functions that give complementary information and build a picture of the single particle and small cluster motion. The central particle and first shell undergo a reversal in momentum at different times after the ‘collision’ of the central particle and its first shell of neighbours. This ‘phase difference’ becomes manifest in the subsequent dynamics probed by the new correlation functions. We also consider the effect of a non-newtonian shear flow on this local dynamical relaxation, using profile biased laminar flow equations of motion. In non-newtonian shear flow we find the momentum transfer between particle and cage to be less pronounced and occur over a wider time range.

Key Words:

• Lennard-Jones interactions
• stress tensor
• non-Newtonian flow