Inelastic scattering of rare-gas atoms from metal surfaces. Excitation of electron-hole pairs

We have studied the inelastic scattering of rare-gas atoms from a metal surface due to the excitation of electron-hole pairs. By comparing with a quantum-mechanical calculation we show that a classical trajectory treatment of the rare-gas atom should in general be sufficient. From an ab initio calculation for He atoms scattered from a Cu surface, we conclude that the electronic mechanism is of little importance for inelastic scattering of rare-gas atoms.