Theory of spin-polarized metastable-He deexcitation on a metal surface with an overlayer

Abstract

In a recent experiment by Hart et al. the spin-polarization and energy distribution of electrons emitted in the interaction between metastable He(2 3S) and Cu with a K overlayer was measured as a function of their kinetic energy. The ejected electron energy distribution is found to be sharply peaked at the highest energies with a spin-polarization around 75%. The purpose of this work is to show the crucial role played by Auger deexcitation and secondary electrons to explain both the energy distribution and the spin-polarization. Using a simple model for Cu with an overlayer our calculation shows a good agreement with the experimental results.