Quantum Sticking of Atoms on Membranes
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
2014-12-08 v2 Quantum Physics
Abstract
A continuum model for low-energy physisorption on a membrane under tension is proposed and studied with variational mean-field theory. A discontinuous change in the energy-dependent sticking coefficient is predicted under certain conditions. This singularity is a result of the bosonic orthogonality catastrophe of the vibrational states of the membrane. The energy-dependent sticking coefficient is predicted to have exponential scaling in 1/E above the singularity. The application of this model to the quantum sticking of cold hydrogen to suspended graphene is discussed. The model predicts that a beam of atomic hydrogen can be completely reflected by suspended graphene at ultralow energies.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1312.5754,
title = {Quantum Sticking of Atoms on Membranes},
author = {Dennis P. Clougherty},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1312.5754},
year = {2014}
}
Comments
15 pages, 4 figures