CLASSICAL, MICROSCOPIC, LIQUID POISSON OSCILLATOR

We report on the atomic dynamics of a simulated Lennard-Jones liquid confined in a plane micropore when the density profile approximates to two dense slabs with a low-density region between. The atomic motion parallel to the slit is essentially diffusional. The atomic motion across the slit comprises statistically independent, very fast, but infrequent, jumps of atoms from one slab to the other, a novel observation in this field. These atomic dynamical events accurately obey Poisson statistics but are consistent with the static density profile in the gap. This system is proposed as a model classical (as opposed to quantum mechanical) microscopic physical system which obeys Poisson statistics.