  The structure, vibrational dynamics and thermodynamics of a chiral surface,
Cu(532), has been calculated using a local approach and the harmonic
approximation, with interatomic potentials based on the embedded atom method.
The relaxation of atomic positions to the optimum configuration results in a
complex relaxation pattern with strong contractions in the bond length of atoms
near the kink and the step site and an equivalently large expansion near the
least under-coordinated surface atoms. The low coordination of the atoms on the
surface affects substantially the vibrational dynamics and thermodynamics of
this system. The local vibrational density of states show a deviation from the
bulk behavior that persist down to the 10th layer resulting in a substantial
contribution of the vibrational entropy to the excess free energy amounting to
about 90 meV per unit cell at 300K.
