Optical response of metal microclusters: Atomic analog of the giant dipole resonance in nuclei

From the analogy between the collective vibrations of delocalized electrons against the positive charged background provided by the ions in small metal clusters and the vibrations of protons against neutrons (giant dipole resonance) in nuclei, it is possible to formulate a model for the damping mechanism of plasma oscillations that exhibits an interesting correspondence between atomic and nuclear statistical processes.