Vicinage effects in energy loss and electron emission during grazing scattering of heavy molecular ions from a solid surface

Abstract

Vicinage effects in the energy loss and the electron emission spectra are studied in the presence of Coulomb explosion of swift, heavy molecular ions, during their grazing scattering from a solid surface. The dynamic response of the surface is treated by means of the dielectric theory within the specular reflection model using the plasmon pole approximation for the bulk dielectric function, whereas the angle-resolved energy spectra of the electrons emitted from the surface are obtained on the basis of the first-order, time-dependent perturbation theory. The evolution of the charge states of the constituent ions in the molecule during scattering is described by a nonequilibrium extension of the Brandt-Kitagawa model. The molecule scattering trajectories and the corresponding Coulomb explosion dynamics are evaluated for the cases of the internuclear axis being either aligned in the beam direction or randomly oriented in the directions parallel to the surface. Our calculations show that the vicinage effect in the energy loss is generally weaker for heavy molecules than for light molecules. In addition, there is clear evidence of the negative vicinage effect in both the energy loss and the energy spectra of the emitted electrons for molecular ions at lower speeds and with the axismore » aligned in the direction of motion.« less