Abstract
This chapter discusses both the theoretical description and experimental characterization of crystal surfaces, with particular reference to intrinsic surface states. A complete picture is presented of the current understanding of the behavior of electrons at clean solid surfaces. As a crystal is a many-particle system, containing nuclei and electrons in continual motion, the states of these particles are described by the solutions of the complete many-particle Schroedinger equation. By utilizing the Born–Oppenheimer approximation, the nuclear and electronic parts of the complete Schroedinger equation can be separated. The electronic Schroedinger equation studied in the chapter is a many-electron wave equation describing the motions of the electrons within a fixed nuclear framework. By adopting the independent-particle model of the Hartree– Fock scheme, where each of the electrons is assumed to move under the influence of the static nuclear potential and the average field of all the other electrons, the many-electron Schroedinger equation can be reduced to a one-electron form. In investigating the electronic properties of crystal surfaces, the one-electron Schroedinger equation is solved, together with the boundary conditions describing the system, by means of the various methods discussed in the chapter.
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