Vibrational states of a cobalt dimer on the (111) and (001) copper surfaces

The results of calculations of the total (lateral and vertical) relaxation of the (001) and (111) copper surfaces in the presence of a small cluster of cobalt adatoms, local vibrational density of states and polarizations of these states are presented. The calculations were performed using the atomic interaction potentials in a tight binding approximation. An analysis of the results obtained showed that the presence of a cobalt dimer gives rise to modification of the vibrational states of the copper surface and generation of new modes localized both on the adatoms of the cluster and the surface atoms of the substrate. The revealed anisotropy of surface relaxation along [001] results in deformation of atomic bonding and splitting of the vibrational modes of the dimer. The lifetimes of the vibrational states of the dimer are found to be nearly equal for both surfaces under study, with a frequency shift being however observed. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp.73–78, December, 2008.