Decoherence effects in propagation of optically generated electron–hole pairs in image potential states

We discuss some many-body aspects of optically induced electronic transitions taking place in the first step of two-photon photoemission from Cu(111) surfaces. Transient and decoherence effects associated with the creation and spatio-temporal propagation of an electron–hole pair generated in the Shockley occupied surface state and image potential bands of the surface image potential (IP–SS ‘exciton’) are assessed by combining the effective model Hamiltonian approach with the formalism of nonadiabatic response.