Thermal expansion and stability of (111) adsorbate-substrate systems of rare gases

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Abstract
When one increases the temperature, the thermal expansion is bigger near a surface than in the bulk. The distance between an adsorbed monolayer and the substrate is increased with temperature. The twodimensional order inside the monolayer may then overcome the three-dimensional order imposed by substrate. This may, in particular, enable a phonon to become soft at a given temperature. This effect is illustrated here on the example of (111) adsorbate-substrate systems of rare gases.