Melting transition of near-monolayer xenon films on graphite: A computer simulation study

Abstract

Xenon films on graphite are simulated with a molecular-dynamics technique. Because of exchange of atoms between the first and second layers, there is a very small temperature window where the first layer melts and freezes continuously in time with a period of nanoseconds. Two-phase coexistence is prevalent during the transitions. The first-layer melting transition is first order, but would appear to be continuous if temporally averaged. These features are in quantitative agreement with recent x-ray scattering experiments. © 1983 The American Physical Society.