Fast atom diffraction for multi-electronic atoms scattered from a LiF surface

Abstract

In this work we investigate experimentally and theoretically angular distributions of swift multi-electronic atoms after colliding with a LiF(001) surface under axial surface channeling conditions. We use the surface eikonal approximation to describe the quantum interference of scattered projectiles. The atom-surface interaction is represented by means of a pairwise additive potential that includes the contribution of the projectile polarization. The aim is to use the experimental spectra to test the range of validity of the proposed potential model.