A one-dimensional model for phonon-induced desorption

Abstract

We derive the kinetic equations for a one-dimensional model of phonon-induced desorption. We start with a generalized master equation and discuss approximations that reduce it to a master equation of the Pauli type. This describes desorption as a stochastic process in which the energy of the chemisorptive bond has random variations caused by the thermal fluctuations of the lattice atoms. Desorption occurs when the bond energy exceeds a certain value, placing the adsorbed particle in a continuum state of the surface-particle potential. The calculation of the rates of energy transfer includes multiphonon processes and allows transitions between all the bound levels of the adsorbed particle. Numerical calculations are presented in a subsequent paper.