Stiffening Transition in Vicinal Surfaces with Adsorption

TL;DR

This paper investigates the stiffening transition in vicinal surfaces with adsorption below the roughening temperature, revealing a novel surface free energy form at the transition point using a combined solid-on-solid and Ising model approach.

Contribution

It introduces a new analysis of the stiffening transition in vicinal surfaces with adsorption, identifying a unique surface free energy behavior at the transition.

Findings

Identification of the stiffening transition temperature $T_s$ where $B$ vanishes.

Discovery of a $p^5$ term in the surface free energy at $T_s$.

Surface free energy form differs from the classical $p^3$ dependence.

Abstract

We study the vicinal surface with adsorption below the roughening temperature, using the restricted solid-on-solid model coupled with the Ising model. We calculate the step tension $\gamma$ and the step-interaction coefficient $B$ by employing a variant of the density matrix algorithm. We find a ``stiffening transition'' at a temperature $T_{\rm s}$ where $B$ vanishes. At $T_{\rm s}$ surface free energy has the form $f(p)- f(0)= \gamma p + ({const.})p^5 + ...$ ($p$: surface gradient), which differs from the well-known $p$-$p^3$ form.