Lifetimes of electrons in the Shockley surface state band of Ag(111)

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed theoretical analysis of electron-electron inelastic damping rates in the Shockley surface state band of Ag(111), incorporating ab-initio band structures to better match experimental observations.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive many-body theoretical approach that accounts for ab-initio band structures, improving the accuracy of damping rate predictions for Ag(111) surface states.

Findings

Damping rate increases more rapidly with energy than previously thought

Improved agreement between theory and experimental data

Enhanced understanding of electron dynamics in Ag(111) surface states

Abstract

We present a theoretical many-body analysis of the electron-electron (e-e) inelastic damping rate $\Gamma$ of electron-like excitations in the Shockley surface state band of Ag(111). It takes into account ab-initio band structures for both bulk and surface states. $\Gamma$ is found to increase more rapidly as a function of surface state energy E than previously reported, thus leading to an improved agreement with experimental data.