Abstract
The scattering of low-energy atoms on metal surfaces is investigated theoretically, assuming that the adatom motion is coupled to surface phonons. The trajectory approximation is used. In the strong-coupling regime, in which many phonons are excited in the course of a scattering event, the results simplify considerably and take a universal form. Essentially, only one unknown parameter remains, the average energy loss δ, which can be determined by comparison with experiments. Details of the phonon dispersion relation and of the coupling constants are lost in the superposition of energy and momentum transfers of a large number of phonons. Explicit expressions for the scattering cross section are derived in this limit. The approach is very successful in analysing the angular and energy distributions of the direct fraction of heavy noble-gas atoms (Ar, Kr, Xe) scattered on metal surfaces.
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