Frenkel Line” † ‡ ¶ § † ∥ ⊥ ¶ § ∥ ⊥ T
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Letter pubs.acs.org/JPCL Behavior of Supercritical Fluids across the “Frenkel Line” † ‡ ¶ § † ∥ ⊥ ¶ § ∥ ⊥ T. Bryk, , F. A. Gorelli, , I. Mryglod, G. Ruocco, , M. Santoro, , and T. Scopigno*, , † Institute for Condensed Matter Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Svientsitskii Street, UA-79011 Lviv, Ukraine ‡ Institute of Applied Mathematics and Fundamental Sciences, Lviv Polytechnic National University, UA-79013 Lviv, Ukraine ¶ Istituto Nazionale di Ottica INO-CNR, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy § European Laboratory for Non Linear Spectroscopy, LENS, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy ∥ Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Roma La Sapienza, I-00185 Roma, Italy ⊥ Center for Life Nano Science @Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 295 Viale Regina Elena, I-00161 Roma, Italy ABSTRACT: The “Frenkel line” (FL), the thermodynamic locus where the time for a particle to move by its size equals the shortest transverse oscillation period, has been proposed as a boundary between recently discovered liquid-like and gas-like regions in supercritical fluids. We report a simulation study of isothermal supercritical neon in a range of densities intersecting the FL. Specifically, structural properties and single-particle and collective dynamics are scrutinized to unveil the onset of any anomalous behavior at the FL. We find that (i) the pair distribution function smoothly evolves across the FL displaying medium-range order, (ii) low-frequency transverse excitations are observed below the “Frenkel frequency”, and (iii) the high-frequency shear modulus does not vanish even for low-density fluids, indicating that positive sound dispersion characterizing the liquid-like region of the supercritical state is unrelated to transverse dynamics. These facts critically undermine the definition of the FL and its significance for any relevant partition of the supercritical phase. pon increasing the pressure and temperature of a substance such a separation line and determined as the locus of specific heat U beyond its critical point, any thermodynamic discontinuity maxima. Alternative representations of the Widom line were later proposed in order to mark the separation line toward higher between the liquid and gas phase disappears and the system is − said to be in a fluid state. Accordingly, conventional wisdom temperatures.6 13 Notably, the pivotal role of the Widom line would suggest that structural and dynamical properties of was anticipated within the context of dynamical crossovers in supercritical fluids smoothly depend on temperature and systems displaying liquid−liquid phase transitions, such as 14−17 pressure. water. Albeit the very nature of supercritical fluids has been debated From the theoretical side, PSD in liquids was originally 18 for over 2 centuries,1 only recently the single-phase scenario has rationalized by mode-coupling theory and by the memory 19,20 been challenged by Gorelli et al.,2,3 when it was suggested to function formalism. The explicit account for nonlocal fl analyze the propagating density fluctuations in supercritical fluids coupling of uctuations of conserved quantities within the as a function of pressure/density, based on the idea that mode-coupling approach allowed one to obtain a nonanalytical dynamical properties could be more sensitive to phase changes correction to the linear hydrodynamic dispersion law for acoustic than the structural properties. As an example, despite strikingly excitations similar pair distribution functions, in liquid and glass systems the ωα()kckk=+5/2 + ... density−density time correlation functions behave in an MCT s absolutely different way because of the dynamic arrest of particle where k is the wavenumber and cs is the adiabatic speed of sound. motion and the emergence of nonergodicity in the glass state. Critically, it appeared that the pressure dependence of the Using a combination of inelastic X-ray scattering experiments positive coefficient α for liquid Ar21 was not the one observed for 4 and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, it was discovered PSD in inelastic X-ray scattering experiments. The memory that the onset of deviation from the hydrodynamic dispersion of function formalism, on the other hand, allowed one to connect sound (the so-called “positive sound dispersion” (PSD)) could different channels of correlation decay in the second-order 20,22 be used as a boundary between liquid-like and gas-like regions memory function with the PSD. More recently, another existing in a fluid as reminiscent of the subcritical behavior.4 theoretical approach of generalized collective modes Obviously, any separation line of liquid-like and gas-like types of dynamics of supercritical fluids must emanate from the critical Received: August 17, 2017 point. Accordingly, in ref 4, the Widom line,5 a prolongation of Accepted: September 25, 2017 the coexistence line, was suggested as a suitable candidate for Published: September 25, 2017 © XXXX American Chemical Society 4995 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b02176 J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2017, 8, 4995−5001 The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters Letter ⟨ 2⟩ ⟨ 2⟩ 2 fi Figure 1. Left: Mean square displacements R for supercritical Ne at 295 K. The line R = Rmax , where Rmax is the rst peak position of g(r), allows fi τ estimation of the speci c Frenkel time F. Right: Frenkel time for supercritical Ne at 295 K calculated from approximate eq 1 and exact eq 2 expressions for the time needed for particles to move the average nearest-neighbor distance. − (GCM)23 25 was applied in order to obtain analytical expression sensitive to some single-particle specific time. This was for the dispersion law of acoustic excitations on the boundary of highlighted taking as an illustrative example the supercritical the hydrodynamic regime.26 Two dynamic models, viscoelastic argon, where the pressure dependence of the minimum of the and thermoviscoelastic ones, were analytically solved in ref 26 in adiabatic speed of sound as a function of temperature cs(T) order to understand different contributions to the PSD in fluids. (taken from the NIST database31) shows a clear mismatch with It was found within the GCM approach that the first correction the location of the Frenkel line.32 to the hydrodynamic dispersion law is proportional to k3 with a A third important issue with the Frenkel line approach coefficient β concerns the behavior of nonhydrodynamic shear waves. On the τ “ ” ω π basis of the Frenkel time scale F,a Frenkel frequency F =2 / ωβ()kckk=+3 + ... τ fi ff GCM s F can be de ned, which would identify a low-frequency cuto bound for transverse excitations in fluids.29 This is against which in viscoelastic approximation decays with a decrease of 33 8,34−36 density in agreement with observations for PSD in inelastic X-ray textbook paradigms and theoretical studies of transverse scattering experiments and for low-density states is practically dispersions in liquids, clearly demonstrating the existence of a zero. The effect of coupling to heat fluctuations within the wavelength rather than frequency gap. Moreover, a thermody- thermoviscoelastic model leads to possible negative values of β namic basis for the Frenkel line was suggested in ref 37, where (i.e., emergence of “negative” sound dispersion) for fluids with a based on the solid-state approach of nondamped phonons the large ratio of specific heats γ, like hard-disk27 and hard-sphere28 authors obtained an expression for a contribution from fluids, or supercritical ones in the vicinity of the critical point.26 transverse excitations to the total energy, which supposedly In 2012, an alternative approach to dynamics of supercritical drops to zero at the Frenkel line. Recently, the solid-state fluids was proposed, connected with the so-called “Frenkel approach to the thermodynamics of liquids was promoted by line”,29,30 which is defined on the basis of single-particles’ claiming that there exist collective excitations in condensed fi fi matter systems (either ordered or disordered) that do not decay properties. Speci cally, its de nition is given by the equivalence “ ” of the characterictic single-particle time scale of “Frenkel jumps” because of the energy conservation law ( damping myth in refs τ 38 and 39), clearly challenging the fluctuation−dissipation F (i.e., time needed for a particle to reach its nearest-neighbor 40 shell) to a shortest oscillation time of transverse excitations in theorem and the role of dissipation in creating new fl τ fluctuations. uids D (which is connected with an analogy of the Debye τ τ All of these facts call for a detailed benchmark of the Frenkel frequency): F = D. This line supposedly discriminates between rigid and nonrigid fluids and was named in ref 30 as a line of line concept and possible implications, which we present here for “ − ” the case of supercritical neon. The choice of this specific system is liquid gas transition in the supercritical region . Because the 41 Frenkel line crosses on the phase diagram the standard liquid− partly motivated by a recent report, in which the disappearance 12 of medium-range order in X-ray diffraction experiments of gas coexistence (at TF) below the critical point (TF < Tc), it immediately raises a question on the potential connection of the supercritical Ne was claimed when the derived third peak of the Frenkel line with liquid-like and gas-like features: a contradiction pair distribution function g(r) was not practically detectable after crossing a pressure value corresponding to the intersection with stands between the general ability to sustain the liquid phase for 41,42 T < T and the identification of a gas-like region at the liquid-side the Frenkel line. Additionally, we will scrutinize other c predictions of the Frenkel line approach, related to dispersion of of the binodal line for TF < T < Tc. Nevertheless, the Frenkel line was claimed to have impact on several structural and dynamic longitudinal and transverse excitations. Definitions of the Frenkel Time Based on Single-Particle quantities such as the pair distribution function, speed of sound, fi τ ff 29 Dynamics.