Roughening and preroughening transitions in crystal surfaces with double-height steps

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Abstract

We investigate phase transitions in a solid-on-solid model where double-height steps as well as single-height steps are allowed. Without the double-height steps, repulsive interactions between up-up or down-down step pairs give rise to a disordered flat phase. When the double-height steps are allowed, two single-height steps can merge into a double-height step (step doubling). We find that the step doubling reduces repulsive interaction strength between single-height steps and that the disordered flat phase is suppressed. As a control parameter a step doubling energy is introduced, which is assigned to each step doubling vertex. From transfer matrix type finite-size-scaling studies of interface free energies, we obtain the phase diagram in the parameter space of the step energy, the interaction energy, and the step doubling energy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)77-80
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review E
Volume61
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000

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