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

The specific-heat critical exponent $\alpha$ has been measured for the Au(110)(1 × 2) order-disorder phase transition using partially integrated low-energy electron diffraction intensities. The resulting value, $\alpha =0.02\mathrm{}\pm 0.05$, is consistent with the predicted Ising universality class of this transition. Evidence for a reduction in the effective critical temperature due to finite-size effects is also presented.