Dynamics at metal surfaces

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Project objective

The object of this proposal is a theoretical investigation of the dynamics for a desorption induced by an electronic excitation of alkali atoms (Cs) on metal surfaces. Experimentally, the dynamics of the alkali atoms has been probed by two-photon Photoemission spectroscopy, where a laser pulse causes a coherent charge transfer excitation where an electron is excited directly from the metal surface or the alkali atom to an unoccupied orbital of the alkali atom. This electronic excitation leads to desorption of the alkali atoms.One can ask, what is the dynamics of the alkali atom between the electronic excitation and the desorption and what controls it?The dynamics is complex due to the dissipative forces between the alkali atoms and the metal surface and they arise from the electronic and phonon degrees of freedoms. We will to use the method termed reduced density matrix theory for open systems. Two different approaches are used to address the energy and phase transfer associated with the electronic and phonon degrees of freedoms of the metal surface. First, an empirical description - the semigroup approach - is used where the metal surface is treated as a bath. The second approach is the surrogate amiltonian method where the bath is replaced by a finite number of two-level states.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM - THE AUTHORITY FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT · JERUSALEMCoordinatorCity levelIsrael

Links

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