The hydrogen molecule in a vice

Oral presentations
13
The hydrogen molecule in a vice
M. Stocker1 S. Röger1 B. Koslowski1
1 Universität
Ulm, Institute of Solid States
[1] F. Natterer, F. Patthey, H. Brune, PRL 111, 175303 (2013).
[2] S. Li, A. Yu, F. Toledo, Z. Han, H. Wang, H.Y. He,R. Wu, W. Ho, PRL 111, 146102 (2013).
[3] M. Stocker, S. Röger, B. Koslowski, arXiv 1503, 07702 (2015).
Tuesday
Molecular Hydrogen physisorbed on metal surfaces leads to strong characteristic features in scanning tunneling spectroscopy [1][2]. At low bias not only a
strong inelastic signature occurs but also a huge change of the elastic channel
is observed. We show that the molecular vibration opens an inelastic channel
as expected but stalls concurrently the entire elastic channel due to the forces
exerted on the electrodes by the vibrating molecule. The required compliance
of the stylus is surprisingly large but is possible in the wide spectrum of experimental conditions. Additionally, the inelastic channel experiences a saturation
from which the lifetime of the molecular vibration can be deduced to be approximately 1 ns. This experiment allows resolving the forces corresponding to
specific vibrational states of a single molecule.[3]