Temperature-Dependent Photoionization of Metal Nanoparticles
Phase Transition, Isotope, and Quantum Effects — doctoral dissertation by Atef Adel Sheekhoon, University of Southern California, August 2026.
The central scientific question
Can electronic observables be used to probe structural, thermodynamic, and quantum phenomena in finite systems? The dissertation answers this using near-threshold photoionization measurements of free alkali-metal nanoparticles.
Its chapters cover nanoparticle generation and thermalization, Fowler threshold analysis, melting transitions in sodium and potassium, isotope effects in lithium, and implications for lattice dynamics and quantum phenomena.
Advisor: Vitaly V. Kresin · Degree: PhD in Physics, University of Southern California.