  Spontaneously formed equilibrium nanopatterns with long-range order are
widely observed in a variety of systems, but their pronounced temperature
dependence remains an impediment to maintain such patterns away from the
temperature of formation. Here, we report on a highly ordered stress-induced
stripe pattern in a two-component, Pd-O, adsorbate monolayer on W(110),
produced at high temperature and identically preserved at lower temperatures.
The pattern shows a tunable period (down to 16 nm) and orientation, as
predicted by a continuum model theory along with the surface stress and its
anisotropy found in our DFT calculations. The control over thermal fluctuations
in the stripe formation process is based on the breaking/restoring of
ergodicity in a high-density lattice gas with long-range interactions upon
turning off/on particle exchange with a heat bath.
