Angular distributions of electrons emitted from free and deposited Na$_8$ clusters

TL;DR

This study uses time-dependent density-functional theory to analyze how electrons are emitted at different angles from free and surface-deposited Na8 clusters after laser excitation, revealing orientation effects and emission level dependencies.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of angular electron emission from Na8 clusters, including deposited and free states, using TDDFT with SIC to improve emission property predictions.

Findings

Angular distributions depend on cluster orientation and environment.

Distinct emission patterns observed for different electronic levels.

Deposited clusters show different emission characteristics compared to free clusters.

Abstract

We explore from a theoretical perspective angular distributions of electrons emitted from a Na$_8$ cluster after excitation by a short laser pulse. The tool of the study is time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) at the level of the local-density approximation (LDA) augmented by a self-interaction correction (SIC) to put emission properties in order. We consider free Na$_8$ and Na$_8$ deposited on the surfaces MgO(001) or Ar(001). For the case of free Na$_8$, we distinguish between a hypothetical situation of known cluster orientation and a more realistic ensemble of orientations. We also consider the angular distributions for emission from separate single-electron levels.