MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS STUDY OF PHYSISORBED XENON ON AL(1 1 0)

The adsorption of Xe on the (1 1 0) face of an Al substrate is investi gated by means of molecular dynamics. A thermodynamic transformation a t constant temperature is studied as a function of the Lennard-Jones p otential range parameter sigma(Xe-Al), for several sizes of the Xe isl and adsorbed on Al. This way a critical value of sigma(Xe-Al), for whi ch the island undergoes a commensurate-incommensurate transition, is i dentified. The implications of our results are discussed in the contex t of experimental interpretation and compared with published Monte Car lo work on this system. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.