Molecular-dynamics reproduction of lateral spallation-layer dissolution

Determine whether molecular-dynamics simulations can reproduce the experimentally observed lateral dissolution of laser-induced spallation layers in bulk metals, and establish whether the inability of current simulations to do so results from their limited lateral size or periodic boundary conditions.

Background

The paper uses phase-sensitive interferometric pump-probe measurements to track the lifetimes and optical thinning of spallation layers in stainless steel, aluminum, and gold. It finds that the spallation layer disintegrates on experimentally resolvable timescales in aluminum and steel, while remaining intact beyond the observation window in gold. The authors note that existing molecular-dynamics simulations do not reproduce this lateral dissolution, leaving unresolved whether the discrepancy is a physical limitation of the simulations or an artifact of their finite lateral size and periodic boundary conditions.