Cross sections for He scattering from surface imperfections: Vacancies and CO adsorbates on Pt(111)

Abstract

Total cross sections for He scattering from isolated imperfections on surfaces are calculated using the Sudden approximation, and in some cases also by a numerically exact, time-dependent quantum-mechanical wave packet method. Systems studied include: CO adsorbates on Pt(111); mono-, di-, and trivacancies on Pt(111). The main results are: (1) the incidence angle and energy dependence of the cross section for He/[Pt(111)+CO] are very sensitive to the CO distance from the Pt plane. Interactions with the adsorbate image have little effect on the cross section. (2) The cross sections for clusters of vacancies are given within 10% or better, by the geometric sum of the monovacancy cross sections, the latter being treated as circles centered at each monovacancy. (3) The dependence of the cross section on the energy is sufficiently sensitive to distinguish between the ‘‘electron density hole’’ and ‘‘electron density hump’’ models for vacancies and vacancy clusters. (4) The Sudden approximation compares well with the exact quantum-mechanical results at typical experimental energies, when the incidence angle is not too far from the normal. These results indicate that experimental measurements of He scattering cross sections as a function of energy and incidence angle, combined with Sudden or wave packet scattering calculations, can provide detailed information on surface defects and their interactions with gas-phase atoms.