Quantum tunnelling

Spectral line

Spectroscopy

Quantum mechanics

Algorithm

Materials science

Energy (signal processing)

Atomic physics

Electronic structure

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Computer science

Surface (topology)

Physics

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy

Nanotechnology

Mathematics

Molecular physics

Superconductivity

Condensed matter physics

Geometry

Scanning tunneling microscope

Electron

Quasiparticle

Photoemission spectroscopy

Optoelectronics

State (computer science)

Physical Review Letters

Quasiparticle interactions broaden spectral features at surfaces, which can be measured using the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). We report the first study of lifetime effects on Shockley surface-state electrons using low-temperature STM spectroscopy. Data taken from Ag(111) are analyzed using detailed tunneling calculations and a simple model, and are found to correspond to a self-energy of $\ensuremath{\Sigma}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}4.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.6\mathrm{meV}$. This is considerably below values determined by angle-resolved photoemission, but remains higher than theoretical predictions.

Surface-State Lifetime Measured by Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy