Abstract
Whether positronium (Ps) can be physisorbed on a material surface is of great fundamental interest, since it can lead to new insight regarding quantum sticking and is a necessary first step to try to obtain a Ps2 molecule on a material host. Experiments in the past have produced evidence for physisorbed Ps on a quartz surface, but firm theoretical support for such a conclusion was lacking. We present a first-principles density-functional calculation of the key parameters determining the interaction potential between Ps and an α-quartz surface. We show that there is indeed a bound state with an energy of 0.14eV, a value which agrees very well with the experimental estimate of ∼0.15eV. Further, a brief energy analysis invoking the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism for the reaction of physisorbed atoms shows that the formation and desorption of a Ps2 molecule in that picture is consistent with the above results.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 096101 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 28 2007 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
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Physisorption of positronium on quartz surfaces. / Saniz, R.; Barbiellini, B.; Platzman, P. M.; Freeman, Arthur J.
In: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 99, No. 9, 096101, 28.08.2007.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Physisorption of positronium on quartz surfaces
AU - Saniz, R.
AU - Barbiellini, B.
AU - Platzman, P. M.
AU - Freeman, Arthur J
PY - 2007/8/28
Y1 - 2007/8/28
N2 - Whether positronium (Ps) can be physisorbed on a material surface is of great fundamental interest, since it can lead to new insight regarding quantum sticking and is a necessary first step to try to obtain a Ps2 molecule on a material host. Experiments in the past have produced evidence for physisorbed Ps on a quartz surface, but firm theoretical support for such a conclusion was lacking. We present a first-principles density-functional calculation of the key parameters determining the interaction potential between Ps and an α-quartz surface. We show that there is indeed a bound state with an energy of 0.14eV, a value which agrees very well with the experimental estimate of ∼0.15eV. Further, a brief energy analysis invoking the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism for the reaction of physisorbed atoms shows that the formation and desorption of a Ps2 molecule in that picture is consistent with the above results.
AB - Whether positronium (Ps) can be physisorbed on a material surface is of great fundamental interest, since it can lead to new insight regarding quantum sticking and is a necessary first step to try to obtain a Ps2 molecule on a material host. Experiments in the past have produced evidence for physisorbed Ps on a quartz surface, but firm theoretical support for such a conclusion was lacking. We present a first-principles density-functional calculation of the key parameters determining the interaction potential between Ps and an α-quartz surface. We show that there is indeed a bound state with an energy of 0.14eV, a value which agrees very well with the experimental estimate of ∼0.15eV. Further, a brief energy analysis invoking the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism for the reaction of physisorbed atoms shows that the formation and desorption of a Ps2 molecule in that picture is consistent with the above results.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.096101
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.096101
M3 - Article
VL - 99
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
SN - 0031-9007
IS - 9
M1 - 096101
ER -