Perturbation theory of scattering for grazing-incidence fast-atom diffraction

Reply to the 'Comment on "Perturbation theory of scattering for grazing-incidence fast-atom diffraction"' by G. A. Bocan, H. Breiss, S. Szilasi, A. Momeni, E. M. S. Casagrande, E. A. Sánchez, M. S. Gravielle and H. Khemliche, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, , DOI: 10.1039/D3CP02486E

In this Reply, we show that criticisms of perturbation theory for grazing-incidence fast-atom diffraction (GIFAD) are ill-founded. We show explicitly that our formulation (W. Allison, S. Miret-Artés and E. Pollak, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 24, 15851) provides a similar precision in describing the observed phenomena as ab initio potentials. Since that is the main criterion to distinguish between methods, it seems reasonable to conclude that the perturbation approach using a Morse-type potential reproduces the essential aspects of the dynamics correctly. In addition we expand on the historical context and summarize the physical insights provided by our methods.

Comment on "Perturbation theory of scattering for grazing-incidence fast-atom diffraction", by W. Allison, S. Miret-Artés and E. Pollak, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, , 15851

In this comment we discuss some aspects of Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 24, 15851, by Allison et al., an article intensely motivated by our study of grazing incidence fast atom diffraction (GIFAD) for He-KCl(001) [G. A. Bocan, H. Breiss, S. Szilasi, A. Momeni, M. E. Staicu Casagrande, M. S. Gravielle, E. A. Sánchez and H. Khemliche, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2020, 125, 096101; G. A. Bocan, H. Breiss, S. Szilasi, A. Momeni, M. E. Staicu Casagrande, E. A. Sánchez, M. S. Gravielle and H. Khemliche, Phys. Rev. B, 2021, 104, 235401]. In particular, (a) we show that, contrary to first order perturbation prediction, the surface corrugation is not proportional to the tangent of the rainbow angle and, (b) we analyze whether a Morse-like formula, like the one Allison et al. use, is able to reproduce the atom-surface potential derived from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In addition, we give some clarifications regarding specific remarks the authors made about our articles.

Surface properties of 1T-TaS2 and contrasting its electron-phonon coupling with TlBiTe2 from helium atom scattering

We present a detailed helium atom scattering study of the charge-density wave (CDW) system and transition metal dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2. In terms of energy dissipation, we determine the electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling, a quantity that is at the heart of conventional superconductivity and may even "drive" phase transitions such as CDWs. The e-ph coupling of TaS2 in the commensurate CDW phase (λ = 0.59 ± 0.12) is compared with measurements of the topo-logical insulator TlBiTe2 (λ = 0.09 ± 0.01). Furthermore, by means of elastic He diffraction and resonance/interference effects in He scattering, the thermal expansion of the surface lattice, the surface step height, and the three-dimensional atom-surface interaction potential are determined including the electronic corrugation of 1T-TaS2. The linear thermal expansion coefficient is similar to that of other transition-metal dichalcogenides. The He-TaS2 interaction is best described by a corrugated Morse potential with a relatively large well depth and supports a large number of bound states, comparable to the surface of Bi2Se3, and the surface electronic corrugation of 1T-TaS2 is similar to the ones found for semimetal surfaces.