Supersonic N-Crowdions in a Two-Dimensional Morse Crystal

Abstract

An interstitial atom placed in a close-packed atomic row of a crystal is called crowdion. Such defects are highly mobile; they can move along the row, transferring mass and energy. We generalize the concept of a classical supersonic crowdion to an N-crowdion in which not one but N atoms move simultaneously with a high velocity. Using molecular dynamics simulations for a close-packed two-dimensional Morse crystal, we show that N-crowdions transfer mass much more efficiently, because they are capable of covering large distances while having a lower total energy than that of a classical 1-crowdion.