Monomer adsorption on equilateral triangular lattices with attractive first-neighbor interactions

Area of Science:

• Surface Science
• Statistical Mechanics
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Monomer adsorption models are crucial for understanding surface phenomena.
• Previous work focused on repulsive first-neighbor interactions on triangular lattices.
• Finite terrace widths and nonperiodic boundaries present unique challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate monomer adsorption on equilateral triangular lattices with attractive first-neighbor interactions.
• To determine the phase diagrams for finite terrace widths (M <= 11).
• To analyze the infinite-M limit for a complete 2D lattice phase diagram.

Main Methods:

• Adsorption modeling on finite-width triangular lattices.
• Phase determination with high confidence (>10 significant figures).
• Derivation of analytic expressions for occupational characteristics.

Main Results:

• Phase diagrams for M <= 11 were generated, including empty, full, stripe, and cluster phases.
• Analytic expressions accurately describe phase characteristics for finite M.
• The infinite-M limit reveals the complete 2D lattice phase diagram.

Conclusions:

• Attractive first-neighbor interactions lead to novel stripe and cluster phases not seen with repulsive interactions.
• The model provides exact analytic expressions for phase behavior.
• This work offers a comprehensive understanding of adsorption on 2D lattices.