  The uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy (UIP-MA) constant is calculated for
a single step on the (001) surface of fcc Co($N$) films. The calculations are
done for both an undecorated step and the step decorated with one or more, up
to 7, Cu wires. Our objective is to explain the mechanisms by which the
decoration decreases the UIP-MA constant, which is the effect observed
experimentally for ultrathin Co films deposited on vicinal (001) Cu surfaces
and can lead to reorientation of magnetization within the film plane.
Theoretical calculations performed with a realistic tight-binding model show
that the step decoration changes the UIP-MA constant significantly only if the
splitting between the on-site energies of various $d$-orbitals is included for
atoms located near the step edge. The local relaxation of atomic structure
around the step is also shown to have a significant effect on the shift of the
UIP-MA constant. The influence of these two relevant factors is analyzed
further by examining individual contributions to the UIP-MA constant from atoms
around the step. The magnitude of the obtained UIP-MA shift agrees well with
experimental data. It is also found that an additional shift due to possible
charge transfer between Cu and Co atoms is very small.
