6533b7d1fe1ef96bd125d568

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Ordering phenomena and phase transitions in the physisorbed quantum systems H2, HD and D2

subject

description

Abstract Recent experimental results of H2, HD and D2 films physisorbed on graphite are briefly reviewed. In particular, the monolayer phase diagrams, the order-disorder transition of the commensurate (C) phase and the commensurate-incommensurate (C-IC) transition are discussed. It will be shown that the melting transition of the C phase belongs to the three-state Potts universality class, and that the C-IC transition occurs via a series of novel intermediate phase, which could be identified as density-modulated phases characterized by striped and hexagonal patterns of domain walls. Due to this rich variety of phenomena, the hydrogen isotopes can be considered as model systems for two-dimensional quantum systems.