Zarkadoula E, Duffy D M, Nordlund K, Seaton M A, Todorov I T, Weber W J, Trachenko K
Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831,USA. Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK. SEPnet, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
J Phys Condens Matter. 2015 Apr 10;27(13):135401. doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/27/13/135401. Epub 2015 Mar 13.
Although the effects of the electronic excitations during high-energy radiation damage processes are not currently understood, it is shown that their role in the interaction of radiation with matter is important. We perform molecular dynamics simulations of high-energy collision cascades in bcc-tungsten using the coupled two-temperature molecular dynamics (2T-MD) model that incorporates both the effects of electronic stopping and electron-phonon interaction. We compare the combination of these effects on the induced damage with only the effect of electronic stopping, and conclude in several novel insights. In the 2T-MD model, the electron-phonon coupling results in less damage production in the molten region and in faster relaxation of the damage at short times. These two effects lead to a significantly smaller amount of the final damage at longer times.
