Melting in Two Dimensions: The Ethylene-on-Graphite System

Abstract

Elastic and quasielastic neutron-scattering results for the melting of submonolayer ethylene films on graphite are described and microscopic evidence is presented for a continuous melting transition. Comparisons are made with data for equivalent methane films and with molecular-dynamics simulations. Differences in melting behavior are attributed to different vacancy creation mechanisms in the films.