Why are para-hydrogen clusters superfluid? A quantum theorem of corresponding states study

Abstract

The quantum theorem of corresponding states is applied to N=13 and N=26 cold quantum fluid clusters to establish where para-hydrogen clusters lie in relation to more and less quantum delocalized systems. Path integral Monte Carlo calculations of the energies, densities, radial and pair distributions, and superfluid fractions are reported at T=0.5 K for a Lennard-Jones (LJ) (12,6) potential using six different de Boer parameters including the accepted value for hydrogen. The results indicate that the hydrogen clusters are on the borderline to being a nonsuperfluid solid but that the molecules are sufficiently delocalized to be superfluid. A general phase diagram for the total and kinetic energies of LJ (12,6) clusters encompassing all sizes from N=2 to N=infinity and for the entire range of de Boer parameters is presented. Finally the limiting de Boer parameters for quantum delocalization induced unbinding ("quantum unbinding") are estimated and the new results are found to agree with previous calculations for the bulk and smaller clusters.