Surface induced superstructure transformation in L1_{0} FePt by Monte Carlo simulations implemented with Analytic Bond-Order Potentials

Stability of the L1_{0} superstructure at the (001)-oriented free surface of FePt modelled with Analytic Bond Order Potentials (ABOP) was probed by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Among the three L1_{0} variants the c-one with (001) monoatomic planes appeared unstable. The presented results confirm the previous ones yielded by a simple Ising–Kawasaki model, and elucidate experimental findings related to FePt thin layers and nanocrystal systems.