Photodetachment dynamics of negative ions near a moving surface

Abstract

Photodetachment dynamics of negative ions near a moving surface is investigated for the first time. An analytical formula for the photodetachment cross section of negative ions induced by the moving surface has been put forward. This formula is universal and appropriate to any negative ion no matter the photodetachment is dominated by an s-wave source or a p-wave source. In contrast to the photodetachment of negative ion near a static surface, the returning kinetic energy of the detached electron is different from its initial value after it is bounced back by the moving surface; therefore, an additional modulation function related to the electron’s initial and returning momentum is multiplied in the oscillating cross section. As a demonstration, we calculate the photodetachment cross section of H− and Cl− ions near a moving surface. It is shown that the photodetachment cross section depends on the electron’s energy and the speed of the moving surface sensitively. Therefore, we can control the photodetachment dynamics of negative ion by a moving surface. Our work provides some insights into the behavior of photodetachment dynamics of negative ion near a moving surface and may guide the future experiments toward this field.