Prediction of Physisorption Interaction Energies: He on Metals

Microscopic calculations of noble-gas adsorption on metals result in an ab initio determination of the interaction energy in agreement with available experimental data. An adequate determination of the attractive interaction energy using a local-dielectric-function formalism requires an accurate description of the dynamic polarizability of the incident atom. The repulsive contribution to the interaction energy was evaluated via the density-functional method. Systematics of He physisorption on various metals are reported.