Quantum theory of the sticking of an atom on a cold solid: Gettering-theory approach

The sticking of an atom on a cold surface is treated by considering the gettering of a gas in a closed vessel. For a small enough area of getter, the gettering rate is obtained essentially exactly in the quasiparticle approximation, and therefore the key quantity is the imaginary part of the gas-atom self-energy calculated at the initial-state energy. The gettering Hamiltonian has an exact representation in terms of the stuck states and the elastic scattering states, and because of this the gettering T matrix, which determines the gas-atom self-energy, and the rates of sticking and inelastic scattering, can be calculated exactly for nontrivial models. Its calculation when the gas atom loses energy to either the electron system, or the phonon system, is considered in detail.