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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Melting of two-dimensional adatom superlattices stabilized by long-range electronic interactions
N N Negulyaev1, V S Stepanyuk, L Niebergall
1Fachbereich Physik, Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle-Wittenberg, D-06099 Halle, Germany.
Abstract:
The melting transition of Ce adatom superlattices stabilized by long-range substrate-mediated electronic interactions on Cu(111) and Ag(111) noble metal surfaces has been investigated by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, density functional theory calculations, and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Intriguingly, owing to the interaction between Ce adatoms and substrate, these superlattices undergo two-dimensional melting to a liquid without transition through the hexatic phase. The crucial parameters for this direct solid to liquid transition are identified.
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