Simplified trajectory method for modeling gas–surface scattering: The NO/Pt(111) system

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Abstract
A model is presented to describe the dynamical processes of trapping/desorption as well as direct and indirect inelastic scattering on single-crystal surfaces. Newton’s equations of motion are integrated for a system consisting of a rigid rotor interacting with a slab of 19 surface atoms. The surface atom which is closest to the center of mass of the molecule is permitted to translate only along the surface normal. In turn, this mobile surface atom is harmonically coupled to a microcanonical heat bath consisting of three subsurface atoms. This method is much less computationally intensive than the typical generalized Langevin equation (GLE) approach. Direct comparison is made between the predictions of this model and experiment for the NO/Pt(111) system. In the case of trapping/desorption, the model accurately describes the observed dependence of rotational alignment on rotational quantum number. For the inelastic scattering regime, the model successfully reproduces the degree of rotational excitation and qualitatively accounts for the observed rotational alignment. In addition, the model predicts correlations between final state velocity and final state rotational angular momentum (both direction and magnitude), as well as the effect of molecular orientation and surface impact parameter on the overall trapping probability.