The proposed program contains three major areas: Wetting and growth, surface melting, and quantum monolayers and multilayers. The wetting and growth studies deal with the epitaxy and perfection of multilayer films, as influenced by substrate- induced strain, dynamics and metastability. Surface edge melting studies emphasize boundary effects and interfaces between the liquid and solid phases. Comparisons between the crystal-melt interfaces of hydrogen isotopes and films of heavier atoms will test for quantum effects. Edge melting relates to one-dimensional behavior versus the two-d character of surface melting. Studies of quantum systems will emphasize phase transitions exhibiting an interplay between quantum effects and dimensionality, such as critical and triple points of individual layers, roughening and possible two-dimensional superfluidity of helium-four and hydrogen adsorbed on crystalline MgO.
