Comparative studies of the underlying local order corresponding to different radial distribution functions of disordered materials

Abstract

We have investigated characteristics of the local symmetry, such as cosine distribution of bond angles and second-order invariants of spherical harmonics for simple disordered systems with systematically varied radial distributions. Two types of variation were used at three different packing fraction values. None of the perturbations affected the basic features, but the extent of local order changed considerably. The most significant alterations were found for the case with the lowest packing fraction. The results presented in this paper may be used as guidelines for assessing the quality of agreement between radial distribution functions from different sources, such as that of simulations and diffraction experiments.