Systematic microcanonical analysis of adsorption transitions

Decreasing the surface attraction at low temperatures, layer after layer is added until the number of layers is the same as in the most compact conformation. A lattice polymer has no other choice than forming layers in this regime. The layering transition from ACl to AC2 is very sharp in both models. Also the shape of the transition region from topologically two-dimensional adsorbed to three-dimensional adsorbed conformations looks very similar. 

We may conclude that, in particular, the high-temperature pseudophases DE, DC/DG, AG, AE, nicely correspond to each other in both models. Noticeable qualitative deviations occur, as expected, in those regions of the pseudophase diagram where compact conformations are dominant and (unphysical) lattice effects are influential. Thus, the choice of the appropriate model depends on the question one wants to answer. Unlike temperatures are not too small and the polymer chain not too short, lattice models are perfectly suitable for the investigation of structural phases. This is particularly true for scaling analyses toward the thermodynamic limit. However, if the focus is more on finite-size effects and the behavior at low temperatures, off-lattice models should generally be preferred. 

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