Glass formation in a simple monatomic liquid with icosahedral inherent local order

In this Rapid Communication, a novel simple monatomic liquid, possessing the distinctive icosahedral inherent local order, is reported. It has been generated by a special form of pair potential employed in a molecular dynamics system of 16 384 particles, and remained stable within a wide range of temperatures explored. Pronounced stability of this model with respect to crystalline nucleation has been tested in a very long run under supercooling which was found to enhance its icosahedral inherent structure. The inherent structure factor exhibits an anomalous long-wavelength maximum which is interpreted as being indicative of the tendency for icosahedral clustering.