Surface-induced quantum density oscillations in the presence of an external magnetic field

Abstract

The electron number density and spin density near the surface of a model metal, semimetal, or semiconductor are calculated in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. The magnetic field is applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface. Numerical results are presented for the limit of a semi-infinite medium. The effect is a magnetic field on the electron density is calculated when the confining potential forming the surface is either an infinite barrier or a finite barrier. The thermal smearing effect of finite temperature is also considered. The authors conclude that experiments designed to probe the magnetic field dependence of the spin polarization in the surface region would be useful