On the positron in a metal

The self-consistent calculations of the spatial distributions of electrons and potentials in vacancies of metals with a localized positron, the spatial distributions of positrons localized in surface states, and the binding energies of positrons and their lifetimes have been performed in terms of the Kohn–Sham method and the stabilized jellium model. The presence of a localized positron in a vacancy leads to the effect that the vacancy is weakly distinguishable for electron waves: the positron weakens the potential field in the vicinity of the vacancy and leads to a phase shift of the scattering electron wave functions. The calculation of the phase shifts of the wave functions for quasi-free positrons scattered by unperturbed vacancies and the representation of a system of vacancies as a “superlattice” in a metal have made it possible to find the shift of the positron work function and the vacancy contribution to the positron effective mass.