Many body effects in elementary processes cccurring at solid surfaces

Abstract

In this talk, we will give a brief survey of some elementary processes observable at surfaces that manifest many body effects. We begin our survey by discussing how the electron ground-state would look like in real-space at surfaces, and also the mechanism behind why the surface electrons behave and look (in reference to their real-space image) as they do in the ground state. Next, we will discuss how these electrons behave when they are perturbed by external fields lasting for an ultrashort period of time. We then follow this with a discussion of how the dynamics of electrons would then affect the motion of adsorbates on surfaces. Finally, we will cite some possible immediate technological applications possible with these knowledge of elementary processes involving the so-called many-body effects. We will also discuss some of the possible trends or directions in doing scientific research in the next century.