Landau-Zener model for electron loss of low-energy negative fluorine ions to surface cations during grazing scattering on a LiF (001) surface

There is no available theoretical description of electron transfer from negative projectiles at a velocity below 0.1 a.u. during grazing scattering on insulating surfaces. In this low-velocity range, electron-capture and electron-loss processes coexist. For electron capture, the Demkov model has been successfully used to explain the velocity dependence of the negative-ion fraction formed from fast atoms during grazing scattering on insulating surfaces. For electron loss, we consider that an electron may be transferred from the formed ionic diabatic quasi-molecular state to the formed covalent diabatic quasi-molecular state by the crossing of the potential curves of negative projectiles approaching the surface cations, which can be described by the Landau-Zener two-energy-level crossing model. Combining these two models, we obtain good agreement between the experimental and calculated data for the F^--LiF(001) collision system, which is briefly discussed.