title: Stability of metal vicinal surfaces revisited.
abstract: The stability of metal vicinal surfaces with respect to faceting is investigated using empirical potentials as well as electronic structure calculations. It is proven that for a wide class of empirical potentials all vicinal surfaces between (100) and (111) are unstable at 0 K when the role of third and farther nearest neighbors is negligible. However, electronic structure calculations reveal that the answer concerning the stability of vicinal surfaces is not so clear-cut. Finally, it is shown that surface vibrations at finite temperatures have little effect on the stability of vicinal surfaces.
authors.affiliation: DSM/DRECAM/SPCSI, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette, France.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Desjonquères
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spanjaard
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barreteau
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Raouafi