Indirect long-range oscillatory interaction between adsorbed atoms

The oscillatory part of the indirect interaction between two adatoms on a metal surface, separated by a large distance R, is examined for the jellium as well as for the tight-binding model. The asymptotic form of the interaction is derived from the singularity of its Fourier transform at wave number q = 2kF. For a substrate with a spherical Fermi surface, the interaction energy is proportional to cos(2kFR)R5. The fall-off is faster than the corresponding oscillatory interaction between two impurities in the bulk, which varies as cos(2kFR)R3. For substrates with a partially filled surface band, the interaction energy falls off much more slowly. Under simple assumptions, the interaction behaves as cos(2kFR)R2. Comparisons are made with the numerical calculations by Einstein and Schrieffer. The experimental results of Tsong on Re atoms adsorbed on W using field-ion microscopy is also discussed.

[1]  T. Einstein,et al.  Indirect Interaction between Adatoms on a Tight-Binding Solid , 1973 .

[2]  W. Lomer.  Electronic Structure of Chromium Group Metals , 1962 .

[3]  W. Lomer.  Fermi surface in molybdenum , 1964 .

[4]  T. B. Grimley,et al.  Interactions between adatoms on metals and their effects on the heat of adsorption at low surface coverage , 1969 .

[5]  L. Mattheiss.  FERMI SURFACE IN TUNGSTEN , 1965 .

[6]  Priya Vashishta,et al.  Electron Correlations at Metallic Densities. V , 1972 .

[7]  C. Slichter.  Principles of magnetic resonance , 1963 .

[8]  W. Kohn,et al.  Elastic interaction of two atoms adsorbed on a solid surface , 1976 .

[9]  S. Lang,et al.  An Introduction to Fourier Analysis and Generalised Functions , 1959 .

[10]  C. Kittel,et al.  INDIRECT EXCHANGE COUPLING OF NUCLEAR MAGNETIC MOMENTS BY CONDUCTION ELECTRONS , 1954 .

[11]  W. M. Walsh,et al.  Evidence of Spin-Orbit Coupling in Metallic Tungsten , 1964 .

[12]  W. Kohn,et al.  Adatom dipole moments on metals and their interactions , 1976 .

[13]  T. B. Grimley.  The indirect interaction between atoms or molecules adsorbed on metals , 1967 .

[14]  J. Rudnick.  Static Screening by a Bounded Electron Gas , 1972 .

[15]  Walter Kohn,et al.  Theory of Metal Surfaces: Charge Density and Surface Energy , 1970 .

[16]  Tien T. Tsong,et al.  Field-Ion Microscope Observations of Indirect Interaction between Adatoms on Metal Surfaces , 1973 .

[17]  T. B. Grimley.  The electron density in a metal near a chemisorbed atom or molecule , 1967 .