Coarse molecular-dynamics analysis of an order-to-disorder transformation of a krypton monolayer on graphite

The thermally induced order-to-disorder transition of a monolayer of krypton (Kr) atoms adsorbed on a graphite surface is studied based on a coarse molecular-dynamics (CMD) approach for the bracketing and location of the transition onset. A planar order parameter is identified as a coarse variable, psi, that can describe the macroscopic state of the system. Implementation of the CMD method enables the construction of the underlying effective free-energy landscapes from which the transition temperature, T(t), is predicted. The CMD prediction of T(t) is validated by comparison with predictions based on conventional molecular-dynamics (MD) techniques. The conventional MD computations include the temperature dependence of the planar order parameter, the specific heat, the Kr-Kr pair correlation function, the mean square displacement and corresponding diffusion coefficient, as well as the equilibrium probability distribution function of Kr-atom coordinates. Our findings suggest that the thermally induced order-to-disorder transition at the conditions examined in this study appears to be continuous. The CMD implementation provides substantial computational gains over conventional MD.