Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
We have performed computer simulation studies on the 22×√3 surface reconstruction of Au(111). This reconstruction involves a uniaxial contraction of the top monolayer corresponding to a surface strain of about 4.3% and has been observed to be the stable structure for clean surfaces at low temperatures. A continuum model yields a stability criterion that depends on the knowledge of a small number of measurable physical quantities: surface stress f, surface free energy γ, lattice parameter a0 and shear modulus µ. The simulations using EAM potentials accurately reproduce many observed features of the reconstruction and tend to support the continuum model and the resulting stability criterion.