Pattern formation by adsorbates with attractive lateral interactions

A novel theoretical approach for the description of pattern formation by adsorbates with strong lateral interactions, giving rise to a first-order phase transition, is presented. It is based on a continuum mean-field approximation and includes adsorption, desorption as well as surface migration steps, while pairwise interactions are introduced through their strength and effective radius. First applications concern the profiles of interfaces separating domains with differing coverages. Further extension to reacting systems is straightforward.