Philip J. Rous

Professor

Ph.D. Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London (UK) 1986

Postdoctoral work at University of Cambridge (UK) and University of California-Berkeley

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Contact Information
Room 217, Physics Bldg.
Department of Physics
Univ. Maryland Baltimore County
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250

Phone:	(410) 455-2598
Email:	rous@umbc.edu

Research Interests

Our research program in theoretical surface physics is directed towards understanding the relationship between crystallography, transient electronic states and elementary dynamical processes at surfaces. Our research is focussed in three main areas of interest: the theory of surface structure retrieval by electron diffraction, the theory of resonant electronic states at surfaces and the dissociation dynamics of simple adsorbed molecules.

Our group is developing new approaches to the extraction of detailed crystallographic information from low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) spectra. These methods include the indirect solution of the search problem using simulated annealing and neural computing architectures as well as more direct methods which employ electronic analogues of holography and tomography.

Currently we are attemptlng to understand the behavior of transient negative ion states of molecules adsorbed at surfaces. We are constructing computational methods to calculate the unoccupied electronic structure of surface-molecule systems. This technique will predict how the lifetime and energy of molecular negative ions are perturbed by adsorption. We are particularly interested in how those negative ion states which cause molecular dissociation are influenced by the local adsorption geometry and orientation of the molecule. This information provides the input to semi-classical trajectory calculations of the dissociation dynamics of molecules at surfaces.

Our long range goal is to integrate these theoretical methods to construct comprehensive theories and computational methods which enable us to elucidate the fundamental electronic and dynamical processes of prototypical surface mediated chemical reactions.

Selected Publications

The Tensor LEED Approximation and Surface Crystallography by Low-energy Electron Diffraction

P. J. Rous,

1992, Progress in Surface Science 39,3

The Lifetime and Energy of Negative Ion Resonances Of Adsorbed Molecules: A Layer-KKR Approach

P. J. Rous,

1992, Surface Science Letters 279, L191

Resonance in Electron Scattering From Molecules on Surfaces

R. E. Palmer and P. J. Rous,

1992 Reviews of Modern Physics 64, 383

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Department of Physics - 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250