The interaction of atoms and molecules with solid surfaces II—The evaporation of adsorbed atoms

Abstract

This paper is an extension of the preceding one to the case of transitions from a state of discrete energy to one in the continuous region. By summing the transition probabilities from the ground state to the states in the continuous region an expression is obtained for the probability of evaporation from a solid surface. We are thus able to evaluate the average length of time spent by an adsorbed atom on a surface. 2- Transition Probabilities In order to calculate the matrix elements corresponding to transitions to states of positive energy, we must first consider the wave functions of the continuous spectrum of the equation (3a) of the preceding paper.