Large zero-point fluctuations of the K(110) surface

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Abstract
First-principles calculations have been performed for the clean K(110) surface. The results provide no evidence for the existence of a 0.23 Å shear displacement of the surface layer along the [1¯10] direction as was inferred from an analysis of low-energy electron diffraction I-V profiles [Itchkawitz et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 2488 (1992)]. They do indicate, however, that the surface layer undergoes large-amplitude vibrations (∼0.45 Å root mean squared) along the [1¯10] direction and it is argued that this feature accounts for the experimental observations.