Properties of Electron Surface States on Liquid Helium

Methods have been developed for depositing electrons on the surface of liquid helium, either from the gas side or from the liquid side. In a suitable applied electric field they escape from the surface into the gas and the rate of escape has been measured. Electrons inside the surface escape by a thermally activated process. Those outside the surface escape much more rapidly by what appears to be a tunneling process. Analysis of the equilibrium between bound and free electrons identifies important features of the binding which have not previously been considered.