Large-scale molecular dynamics verification of the Rayleigh-Plesset approximation for collapse of nanobubbles.

We report large-scale (10(7) atoms in an 85-nm-wide container) molecular dynamics simulations of collapse of nanoscopic (5-12 nm in diameter) voids in liquid argon. During the collapse the pressure on the liquid side decreases, and this decrease propagates into liquid at the speed of sound. Despite the nonuniform profile of pressure in the liquid the solutions of the Rayleigh-Plesset equation compares well to the measured evolution of the radius of the void and the velocity of the interface. Evaporation of liquid into the void does not affect the dynamics appreciably.