In this article we show that the reconstructions of semiconductor surfaces
can be determined using a genetic procedure. Coupled with highly optimized
interatomic potentials, the present approach represents an efficient tool for
finding and sorting good structural candidates for further electronic structure
calculations and comparison with scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) images.
We illustrate the method for the case of Si(105), and build a database of
structures that includes the previously found low-energy models, as well as a
number of novel configurations.Comment: 4 figures, 1 tabl
