Chaos in rotating triatomic clusters

Abstract

Lyapunov exponent distributions of rotating triatomic Lennard-Jones clusters are calculated to analyze the effects of the vibrational and rotational motion on the extent of chaotic behavior. Initial momentum components are assigned to atoms either to rotate the clusters around symmetry axes or to generate random angular momenta. In both cases, it is seen that the initial kinetic energy assigned to vibrational modes is the dominant factor which determines the degree of chaos.