Levitation of atoms over a metal surface

The potential of the interaction of an alkali metal with a planar metal surface was calculated by solving a two-dimensional Schrodinger equation. The potential energy of the valence electron of the atom was derived from a model pseudopotential based on the image potential. It was demonstrated that the potential energy curve for the interaction of an alkali metal atom with the surface of a heavier alkali metal has a minimum at a certain distance from the surface, a feature that gives rise to equilibrium states of levitating atoms.