Structural stability and phase stability is of fundamental importance in materials science. Up-to-date information on the theoretical aspects in this context can be obtained from this book. Emphasis is placed on the description of applications to systems of actual interest.

Inhalt
I New Developments in Methodology.- Parallel Computing and Order-N Methods.- Ab Initio Effective-Medium Theory for Al (With 2 Figures).- Angular-Dependent Many-Atom Bond-Order Potentials (With 4 Figures).- Augmented-Plane-Wave Force Calculations for Transition-Metal Systems.- Structural Optimization with the KKR Method and Its Application to Interstitial Impurities in Mg (With 7 Figures).- II Applications to Defects, Clusters and Surfaces.- Conjugate-Gradient Total-Energy Minimization: Defects in Silicon (With 6 Figures).- Structural Trends in Clusters and Disordered Systems (With 5 Figures).- Order-Disorder Phase Transition on the Si(001) Surface (With 5 Figures).- First-Principles Structural Optimization of the Al/Si Surface (With 5 Figures).- Alkali-Metal Adsorption on the Si(001) Surface (With 7 Figures).- Structural and Vibrational Properties of Alkali Overlayers on Metals (With 4 Figures).- Atomic and Electronic Structure of Some Exotic Surfaces Revealed by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (With 10 Figures).- III Phase Stability and Kinetics in Alloys and Compounds.- Order and Phase Stability in Alloys (With 4 Figures).- From Electronic Structure to Phase Diagrams (With 6 Figures).- Phase Diagram for Long Period Stacking Variants (With 1 Figure).- Kinetic Study of an Alloy Phase by the Path Probability Method (With 6 Figures).- IV Beyond the Local-Density Approximation.- Correlated Wavefunction Quantum Monte-Carlo Approach to Solids (With 5 Figures).- Quantum Monte-Carlo Calculations on Real Materials (With 2 Figures).- Application of GGA to a Study of Structural and Magnetic Properties of 3d Transition Metals (With 6 Figures).- Metal-Insulator Transition in Ni Compounds (With 7 Figures).- Index of Contributors.