Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
8-1990
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Physics
Major Professor
R. H. Ritchie
Abstract
This dissertation consists of two parts covering two different topics. In the first part, Manson and Ritchie's self-energy formalism is applied to investigate the image potential for a charged particle near a solid surface. A generalization of this formalism to include high-order corrections has been given. Numerical evaluation of the image potential has been carried out using the complete and orthogonal basis set of Coulombic wave functions. Calculation of high-order corrections to the binding energy of electrons in image states is described. In the second part of this dissertation, a nonlinear mechanism of photon absorption by surface plasmon excitation through intraband excitations facilitated by electron-ion interactions is investigated. The results indicate that this mechanism may make small correction to the absorptance of photons at an Al metal surface. Further theoretical and experimental work in this area is indicated.
Recommended Citation
Zheng, Xiangyang, "Surface interactions in quantum plasmas. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1990.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/11530
