A simulation study was extended to treat the effect of oriented monatomic steps on the W(001) reconstruction transition. Step direction was found to be an important factor with <100> steps merely broadening the transition. In contrast <110> steps could induce order well above the defect-free surface transition temperature, possibly explaining observations of anomalous persistence of order. The effects of variations in Hamiltonian parameters were also studied quantitatively, allowing verification of earlier expectations of the effect of such changes due to low-coverage adsorption.

Model Study of the Effect of Surface Steps and Adsorbate-Induced Perturbations on the Clean W(001) Reconstruction Transition. L.D.Roelofs: Physical Review B, 1986, 34, 3337-44