Interaction of ions and molecules with surface modes in cylindrical channels in solids

Abstract

The interaction of ions and molecules with surface modes in cylindrical channels in solids is described on the basis of the dielectric formalism, starting with simple dielectric models and using also more realistic descriptions of the dielectric properties of various materials of experimental interest. The response of the medium is first characterized in terms of the wake potential, calculating the main effects on the moving particles, including self-energy values, stopping and lateral forces. The general scaling properties of the main quantities as well as the effects of plasmon damping in real materials are described. The formulation is extended to ion clusters and molecular composites, introducing new form factors to take into account the cylindrical symmetry of the problem. Applications to simple ions, diclusters, dipoles, and polar molecules channeled in microcapillaries and nanochannels are considered.