Ab-initio adiabatic noble gas–metal interaction: the role of the induced polarization charge

Within an ab-initio DFT–LDA framework, we have investigated the polarization induced on He and Ne atoms by a jellium (Al-like) surface. It is shown that the displaced charge of the gas–metal system is spherically distributed around Ne. It is polarized instead for He with a dipole moment having the negative lobe towards the jellium surface. A relationship between the two different polarizations of He and Ne with corrugating and anti-corrugating behavior is discussed.