Interaction between a He atom and a graphite surface

A study is presented of the interaction V(r) between a He atom and a graphite surface. V(r) is assumed equal to a sum of pair interactions U(r ? R_i) between the He and C atoms. None of a set of isotropic potentials (dependent only on the magnitude ¦r ? R_i¦) is consistent with recent scattering data. Anisotropie pair potentials, in contrast, are found to yield good agreement. The origin of this anisotropy is analyzed in terms of the graphite dielectric function and charge density.