Surface location of sodium atoms attached to 3He nanodroplets

We have experimentally studied the electronic $3p\leftarrow 3s$ excitation of Na atoms attached to $^3$He droplets by means of laser-induced fluorescence as well as beam depletion spectroscopy. From the similarities of the spectra (width/shift of absorption lines) with these of Na on $^4$He droplets...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Stienkemeier, F.; Bünermann, O.; Mayol Sánchez, Ricardo; Ancilotto, Francesco; Barranco Gómez, Manuel; Pi Pericay, Martí
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2004
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/10547
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/10547
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Superfícies (Física)
Excitació nuclear
Surfaces (Physics)
Nuclear excitation
Description
Summary:We have experimentally studied the electronic $3p\leftarrow 3s$ excitation of Na atoms attached to $^3$He droplets by means of laser-induced fluorescence as well as beam depletion spectroscopy. From the similarities of the spectra (width/shift of absorption lines) with these of Na on $^4$He droplets, we conclude that sodium atoms reside in a ``dimple'' on the droplet surface and that superfluid-related effects are negligible. The experimental results are supported by Density Functional calculations at zero temperature, which confirm the surface location of sodium on $^3$He droplets, and provide a detailed description of the ``dimple'' structure. The calculated shift of the excitation spectra for the two isotopes is in good agreement with the experimental data.