Photo-Induced Image Current

TL;DR

This paper investigates the generation of photo-induced image currents in nano-sized metal clusters using time-dependent perturbation theory, revealing localized electron wave functions and current flow in spherical shells, with specific analysis on Li13 clusters.

Contribution

It introduces a novel study of photo-induced image currents in metal clusters, combining quantum mechanical methods and simulations to explore their characteristics.

Findings

Electron wave functions are localized outside the surface.

Current flows in a spherical shell around the cluster.

Photo-induced image currents in metal clusters are characterized for the first time.

Abstract

We study the possibility of the generation of the photo-induced image currents at a distance from the surface of nano-sized metal clusters by using time-dependent perturbation theory. We reveal that the wave function of an electron excited to the image state is localized outside the surface and current flows in a spherical shell whose radius is a few times the radius of the sphere. Spin polarized light has been applied to a perfect icosahedral metal cluster Li$_{13}$ whose optimization is achieved by molecular dynamic simulation and band structure is obtained by DFT method and by solution of radial Schr\"odinger equation. Up to our knowledge, despite the great effort on their characteristics, image electrons have not been the subject of the studies on photo-induced current.