In this new work, the focus is on the dynamical response of metal electrons to several types of incident electromagnetic fields. The author, an eminent theorist, discusses Time-Dependent Local Density Approximation's importance in both elucidating electronic surface excitations and describing the ground state properties of electronic systems. Chapters detail theoretical formulations and computational procedures, covering such areas as single-particle and collective modes, spatial distribution of the induced surface charges, and local electric fields. Excitation spectra are shown for a variety of clean simple metals, noble metals, chemisorbed overlayers, charged surfaces, and small metal particles.

Understanding energy dissipation mechanisms is a field of present-day scientific interest. Experimental results for electronic excitations in metals propose a measurable electronic excitation during many processes involving a metal surface, including epitaxy. While the role of the nuclear excitation processes is comparatively well understood, the role of electronic excitation processes in the energy dissipation during adsorption and other dynamical processes at surfaces is elusive. One of the reasons is that the interaction dynamics is often treated on a Born- Oppenheimer potential energy surface, which is, strictly speaking, not justified for metals, but lifting this restriction is computationally demanding. The focus of this book is the investigation of a perturbative approach to calculate electronic excitations. After a basic introduction into some major aspects of Density Functional Theory calculations, a time-dependent perturbative approach to calculate electronic excitations is developed. This approach is then applied to several model systems, and the results are compared to available experimental data, and other theoretical approaches.

Progress continues in the theoretical treatment of surfaces and processes on surfaces based on first-principles methods, i.e. without invoking any empirical parameters. In this book, the theoretical concepts and computational tools necessary and relevant for a microscopic approach to the theoretical description of surface science is presented, together with a detailed discussion of surface phenomena. This makes the book suitable for both graduate students and for experimentalists seeking an overview of the theoretical concepts in surface science. This second enlarged edition has been carefully revised and updated, a new chapter on surface magnetism is included, and novel developments in theoretical surface science are addressed.