Capture of an atom by an argon cluster: Atomistic simulation

A molecular dynamics simulation of the collision of an argon atom with a neutral cluster Ar$_n$ ($n \le 400$) in an equilibrium system at a temperature of $T = 20$–$35$ K has been performed using the classical trajectory method. It has been shown that the total capture cross section under these conditions exceeds the limiting value obtained in the hard-sphere model and approaches it very slowly with an increase in $n$ and $T$. At the same time, the simulation results are in agreement with the Langevin capture cross section for an atom in the Gspann-Vollmar potential, particularly with allowance for the dependence of the capture probability on the collision rate.