ON THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF CRYSTALS IN THE METASTABLE REGION

The possibility of superheating crystals has been firmly established b ut experimental investigations of their metastable states present grea t difficulties. We have undertaken a theoretical study of their thermo dynamic properties near the limit of stability. Using the correlative method of unsymmetrized self-consistent field, we have explored the pr operties of Van der Waals crystals with the face-centered cubic lattic e. The exponents governing their peculiarities in the vicinity of the unstable point have been evaluated and discussed.