Using fluctuations to locate the surface roughening transition

An analysis of the fluctuations of a {100} FCC interface has been used to locate the surface roughening transition in kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. These simulations were conducted using a spin 1/2 Ising model treatment of the solid-liquid interface. A temperature gradient was imposed on the simulation cell providing a restoring force to the interface. Fluctuations in the number of solid atoms in the system were measured using time correlations. The fluctuation dissipation theorem was employed to relate the characteristic times retrieved from the time correlation to the kinetic coefficients of the system. A dramatic change was found in these characteristic times, which locates the surface roughening transition.