Ultrafast atomic diffusion inducing a reversible (2√3x2√3) R30º ↔ (√3x√3) R30º transition on Sn/Si (111)∶B

Abstract

Dynamical phase transitions are a challenge to identify experimentally and describe theoretically. Here, we study a new reconstruction of Sn on silicon and observe a reversible transition where the surface unit cell divides its area by a factor of 4 at 250 degrees C. This phase transition is explained by the 24-fold degeneracy of the ground state and a novel diffusive mechanism, where four Sn atoms arranged in a snakelike cluster wiggle at the surface exploring collectively the different quantum mechanical ground states.