Rate theory for correlated processes: Double-jumps in adatom diffusion
Materials Science
2009-10-30 v1
Abstract
We study the rate of activated motion over multiple barriers, in particular the correlated double-jump of an adatom diffusing on a missing-row reconstructed Platinum (110) surface. We develop a Transition Path Theory, showing that the activation energy is given by the minimum-energy trajectory which succeeds in the double-jump. We explicitly calculate this trajectory within an effective-medium molecular dynamics simulation. A cusp in the acceptance region leads to a sqrt{T} prefactor for the activated rate of double-jumps. Theory and numerical results agree.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/9707048,
title = {Rate theory for correlated processes: Double-jumps in adatom diffusion},
author = {Joachim Jacobsen and Karsten W. Jacobsen and James P. Sethna},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/9707048},
year = {2009}
}