NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF PHOTODESORPTION OF MOLECULES BY LASER MOLECULAR VIBRATIONAL COUPLING

The photodesorption process of molecules by IR laser excitation of one of the molecular vibrational modes of the physisorbed adsorbate is investigated in terms of a simple model, which only considers the energy transfer mechanism between the excited intramolecular vibration and the molecule-surface van der Waals bond. Desorption rates are calculated by numerically integrating the classical equations of motion of the system and by a quantum perturbative approach. A large discrepancy between classical and quantum rates, for a set of parameters which describe CH3F - NaCl, is found.