| Abstract: | The inelastic scattering of a light atom (helium) from a metallic surface with creation or annihilation of electron-hole pairs is studied. Diagonal and off-diagonal matrix elements of the atom-metal interaction are discussed. The nonadiabatic contributions to the scattering are analyzed in terms of a statistical potential. Explicit calculations are performed for a jellium model at electron densities corresponding to Al and Na. The electron-hole pair excitation probabilities turn out to be of the order of 10?5–10?3. |
