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Science 5 September 1997:
Vol. 277. no. 5331, pp. 1447 - 1448
DOI: 10.1126/science.277.5331.1447
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Perspectives

SURFACE PHYSICS:
More Than Skin Deep

Ward Plummer

Electrons normally stay close to surfaces of metals and have a lot to do with what kinds of chemistry can take place on surfaces. In his Perspective, Plummer discusses results published in the same issue by Höfer et al. in which the technique of coherent laser excitation was used to put surface electrons into high-lying "Rydberg" states. The behavior of the excited electrons was then mapped out with angle-resolved photoemission. Knowledge of the time evolution of surface states may help with detailed studies of surface dynamics and chemical reactions.

The author is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA. E-mail: eplummer{at}utk.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)