OBSERVATION OF SURFACE ACOUSTIC PHONON RESONANCES - APPLICATIONS TO THE CO+O2 OSCILLATORY REACTION ON PT(100)

A new approach to dynamic systems is introduced, in which the eigenmode set of the system is represented as a collection of quantum oscillators having anomalous phase density close to the resonant frequencies of the system. This approach allows us to predict and explain self-organization phenomena including a strong correlation between the macro structure of a system and the intensity of its coherent micro transformations. Experimental results using a novel acoustic spectrometer are presented which demonstrate sharp, surface-sensitive resonance features on Pt{100}. Phenomena predicted by theory have been observed in the CO + O2 oscillatory reaction on Pt{100}, including an ability to acoustically influence the reaction rate.