In-out asymmetry in the interaction of a charged projectile with a solid interface of nanodimensions.

J. L. GERVASONI; R. O. BARRACHINA; S. SEGUI; W. WERNER

Granada

Conferencia; NANOSMAT 2013; 2013

A charged projectile traversing a solid interface might loss energy through different mechanisms, but in particular by the excitation of collective oscillations (plasmons) in the bulk and the surface [1]. We employ a semi-classical dielectric formalism [2] in order to study the differences and similarities between incoming and outgoing trajectories. We evaluate the induced potential and find an oscillatory structure on the bulk contribution that can be ascribed to a perturbation reflecting on the surface. On the contrary, no such asymmetry is observed on the surface contribution to the induced potential. This asymmetry between incoming and outgoing trajectories produces, for instance, an oscillation of the bulk plasmon production with the distance to the surface for incomingtrajectories that is absent when the projectile leaves the solid.We investigate this effect on the induced potential and stopping power, both for trajectories traversing the surface and reflecting at a given distance from it, and discuss the available experimental evidence and the feasibility of observing these oscillations in particular setups.