Abstract
The reflection of incident4He atoms from the surface of liquid4He can yield information on the microscopic features of the liquid at the surface. Edwards et al. have measured this reflectivity and have developed a theoretical model which successfully described the measurements. However, the density profile of the liquid4He surface has recently been determined experimentally, and this can now be used to model the reflectivity without any freely adjustable parameters. We use this density profile and the experimentally-determined interatomic pair potential to derive an effective potential for the incoming atom, and then solve the single-particle Schroedinger equation to find the reflectivity as a function of wavevector perpendicular to the surface. Within the uncertainty in the density profile and interatomic potential, we have chosen values that give good agreement between the measured and calculated reflectivities.
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Tucker, M.A.H., Wyatt, A.F.G. Elastic reflection of4He atoms from the surface of liquid4He. J Low Temp Phys 100, 105–120 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00753838
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00753838