Change in the Crystallization Features of Supercooled Liquid Metal with an Increase in the Supercooling Level

Abstract

The process of homogeneous crystal nucleation has been considered in a model liquid, where the interparticle interaction is described by a short-range spherical oscillatory potential. Mechanisms of initiating structural ordering in the liquid at various supercooling levels, including those corresponding to an amorphous state, have been determined. The sizes and shapes of formed crystal grains have been estimated statistically. The results indicate that the mechanism of nucleation occurs throughout the entire considered temperature range. The crystallization of the system at low supercooling levels occurs through a mononuclear scenario. A high concentration of crystal nuclei formed at high supercooling levels (i.e., at temperatures comparable to and below the glass transition temperature T_g) creates the semblance of the presence of branched structures, which is sometimes erroneously interpreted as a signature of phase separation. The temperature dependence of the maximum concentration of crystal grains demonstrates two regimes the transition between which occurs at a temperature comparable to the glass transition temperature T_g.