Thermal Nanoquakes: Terahertz Frequency Surface Rayleigh Waves in Diamond Nanocrystals
Researchers used molecular dynamics and neutron spectroscopy to investigate mechanical THz vibrations in nanocrystals. They found that thermally induced Rayleigh surface phonons cause a linear scaling of the low-energy vibrational density of states, a feature previously unexplained. This suggests these surface waves are responsible for unique thermal properties in nanodiamonds.