Correlated electron effects in low energy Sr(+) ion scattering

Resonant charge transfer during low energy ion scattering reveals correlated-electron behavior at high temperature. The valence electron of a singly charged alkaline-earth ion is a magnetic impurity that interacts with the continuum of many-body excitations in the metal, leading to Kondo and mixed valence resonances near the Fermi energy. The occupation of these resonances is acutely sensitive to the surface temperature, which results in a marked temperature dependence of the ion neutralization. We report such a dependence for low energy Sr(+) scattered from polycrystalline gold.