Nanoscopic phase changes in doped 4He droplets

A novel analysis of final walkers distributions from quantum Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations is presented for the smaller 4 He clusters containing Li+, Na+ and K+. The results are shown to provide a clear pictorial view of electrostriction effects leading to the formation of solid-like snowballs that can be surrounded by a liquid-like environment of additional solvent atoms. Transitions from one nanophase to the other are clearly shown by the stochastic results as a function of cluster size and of the chemical nature of the specific dopant ion. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2008.