Uniaxial Commensurate-Incommensurate Transition in Surface Films: Xe Adsorbed on Cu(110)

Abstract

Low-energy-electron-diffraction and Auger-electron-spectroscopy measurements indicate the existence of an uniaxial commensurate-incommensurate transition in a solid monolayer of xenon adsorbed on the (110) face of copper. The critical exponent describing the variation of the lattice constant versus chemical potential is consistent with the value \textonehalf{} predicted by Pokrovsky and Talapov.