Phase transitions in monolayers adsorbed on uniaxial substrates

Abstract

The phase diagram of a $p\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$ uniaxial adsorbed layer is investigated theoretically, including the possibility of incommensurate phases. For $p=3 \mathrm{and} 4$ we determine the incommensurability crossover exponents at the commensurate-fluid multicritical point. We then argue that due to a strong renormalization of the dislocation core energy the incommensurate phase should be stable up to the multicritical point for $p>~3$. Possible phase diagrams for general $p$ are discussed.