Surface lattice dynamics and electron-phonon interaction in cesium ultra-thin films

The phonon dispersion curves of ultrathin films of Cs(110) on Pt(111) measured with inelastic helium atom scattering (HAS) are reported and compared with density-functional perturbation theory (DFPT) calculations. The combined HAS and DFPT analysis also sheds light on the bulk phonon dynamics of bcc-Cs, on which very little is known from neutron scattering due to its large neutron capture cross-section. Moreover the temperature dependence of the elastic HAS Debye-Waller exponent of Cs(110)/Cu(111) ultrathin films allows for an estimation of the electron-phonon coupling strength l as a function of the film thickness.