Metastability and Crystallization in Hard-Sphere Systems.

We present results of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of hard sphere systems at values of the volume fraction f along the disordered, metastable branch of the phase diagram up to random closepacking fc. By quantifying the degree of local order, we determine the necessary conditions to obtain a truly random system, enabling us to compute the pressure carefully along the entire metastable branch. Near fc we show that the pressure scales as sfc 2 fd , where g ­ 1 and fc ­ 0.644 6 0.005. Contrary to previous studies, we find no evidence of a thermodynamic glass transition and find that after long times the system crystallizes for all f above the melting point. [S0031-9007(96)01661-4]