Specific-heat anomaly of Au(110)(1 x 2) studied by low-energy electron diffraction

Abstract : The specific heat critical exponent alpha has been measured for the Gold (110) (1X2) order disorder phase transition using partially integrated Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) intensities. The resulting value, alpha = 0.02 + or - 0.05, is consistent with the predicted using universality class of this transition. Evidence for a reduction in the effective critical temperature due to finite size effects is also presented. Keywords: Phase transitions; Universality; Critical exponents; Low energy electron-diffraction; and Finite size effects.