Simple generic method for predicting the effect of strain on surface diffusion

We show, by first-principles calculations, that the effect of external strain on surface diffusion is inherently correlated with the intrinsic surface stress induced by the adatom along its diffusion pathways. We demonstrate a simple generic method for a priori predicting quantitatively how an external strain will change surface diffusion on any given surface, based on calculations of surface-stress tensors of the unstrained surface.