CHEMISORPTION OF LI ON JELLIUM - LOCAL-DENSITY OF STATES AND NUCLEAR-SPIN RELAXATION

Nuclear-spin relaxation of atoms chemisorbed on metal surfaces is investigated theoretically. The underlying interaction is the Fermi contact interaction between the magnetic moments of the nucleus and the surrounding electrons. In a resulting rate equation for the nuclear polarization, the rate depends on the local density of electron states (LDOS) at the nuclear site. This LDOS is calculated in the framework of density-functional theory via solving Dyson's equation using the jellium model for the metal substrate. The model results are consistent with the data.