Dissipative van der Waals and Mirror Interaction of keV Atoms with the Metal Surface at Grazing Reflections

Key Points

• This research aims to understand energy losses in keV atomic beams at grazing reflections from metal surfaces.
• Studied energy losses of keV atomic beams reflecting from an amorphous metal surface.
• Derived expressions for dissipative van der Waals, electrodynamic, and electronic interactions.
• Performed calculations for sodium and potassium atoms reflecting off an aluminum surface.
• Dissipative van der Waals energy losses can dominate at transverse energies of 0.5-2 eV.
• Notable variations in energy loss components were observed depending on atomic type and energy levels.

Abstract