The structural and energetic properties of [100] and [110] steps on th
e (001) surface of fcc metal have been determined by T = 0 atomistic s
imulations. The interactions between [100] steps and between [110] ste
ps on the (001) surface are determined from the surface energy of a se
ries of (01n) and (1BAR1m) surfaces, respectively. For step spacings l
arger than three fcc lattice parameters (R > 3a0), we find that the in
teraction energy between two similar steps on the (001) surface can be
reasonably represented by the functional form R-2, in agreement with
the prediction of a simple linear elastic analysis based upon a line d
ipole force model of a step. However, we observe qualitative differenc
es between the displacement fields determined by the two methods. For
R < 3a0, on the other hand, we find that the interaction between steps
deviates significantly from the form R-2. These deviations demonstrat
e that both dipole and quadrupole force distributions are necessary to
account for step-step interactions for spacings as small as a fractio
n of a lattice parameter up to infinite step spacings. We show that a
[100] step on the (001) surface in Au and Pt (but not in Ag, Au, Cu, o
r Pd) may lower the surface energy by transforming into a zig-zagged [
110] step.