HAIT Journal of Science and Engineering A
Volume 5, Issues 1-2, pp. 143-163
© 2008 Holon Institute of Technology

 

Mobility of electrons on the surface of quantum liquids

Pavel D. Grigoriev1,2,*, Alexander M. Dyugaev1,2, and Elena V. Lebedeva3

1L.D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics,
Chernogolovka, Moscow region, 142432, Russia,
2Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme,
Dresden D-01187, Germany
3Institute of Solid State Physics,
Chernogolovka, Moscow region, 142432, Russia
*Corresponding author: grigoriev@itp.ac.ru
Received 31 August 2007

 

The temperature dependence of electron mobility on the surface of liquid helium is examined. We calculate the contribution to the electron scattering rate from the surface level atoms (SLA), proposed in [A.M. Dyugaev and P.D. Grigoriev, JETP Lett. 78, 466 (2003)]. This contribution is essential at low temperatures T<0.5, when the He vapor concentration is exponentially small. The influence of clamping field on the electron scattering rate is investigated. We also study the effect of quantum evaporation of electrons from the lowest energy subband, which leads to the increase in the electron mobility at high temperature. The results obtained explain several long-standing discrepancies between the existing theory and experiment on electron mobility on the surface of liquid helium.

PACS: 73.20.-r, 73.25.+i, 73.40.-c


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