Prof. Jim Williams

Career

After MSc, Dip Ed at the University of New England and PhD (ANU) in 1965, research at AERE Lucas Heights; Canadian National Research Fellowship at Laval University, Quebec; nuclear reactor and atomic physics at General Atomic in San Diego; Reader in Physics at Queens University Belfast for 10 years, Jim has been Professor of Physics at the University of Western Australia since 1980. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (since 1966), the Institutes of Physics in the UK and Australia and a Fellow of the Academy of Science (1998).

Expertise

• Atomic, molecular and chemical physics
• Atomic structure and quantum dynamics
• Low energy polarised electron and positron scattering from free atoms, surfaces and thin films
• Polarisation of photons and quantum particles
• Technology and instrumentation

Research Interests

In general:

• Atomic and molecular, surface and quantum phenomena.
• Quantum structure and dynamics.

In particular:

• Interaction of electrons and positrons with free atoms, molecules and surfaces
• adsorption of atoms and molecules on surfaces
• orbital and spin angular momenta aspects of electronic structure and scattering dynamics
• experimental techniques and instruments
• electron energy analysers, position sensitive detection, sources and detectors of spin-polarised electrons and positrons, ultra-high vacuum systems

Projects

• Low energy electron scattering using spin-polarised sources and detectors of electrons and photons from free atoms and molecules
• Spin-polarized two-electron spectroscopy of surfaces
• Positron interactions with surfaces

Selected Publications

• S. Samarin, J.F. Williams, A. Sergeant, O. Artamonov, H. Gollisch, R. Feder, Spin-dependent reflection of very-low-energy electrons from W(110), Phys. Rev. B 76, 125402 (2007) Abstract
• L. Pravica, D. Cvejanović, J. F. Williams and S. A. Napier, Spin-resolved negative ion resonances in zinc near 11 eV, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 88, 012067 (2007) Abstract
• S. Samarin, O.M. Artamonov, A.D. Sergeant, A.A. Suvorovac and J.F. Williams, Application of two-electron spectroscopy in reflection for studying electronic structure of surfaces and thin films, J. El. Spectr. and Rel. Phenomena 161, 147 (2007)
• J.F. Williams, P. Bartlett, A.T. Stelbovics, Threshold Electron-Impact Ionisation Mechanism for Atomic Hydrogen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 123201 (2006)
• S. Samarin, O. M. Artamonov, A.D. Sergeant, R. Stamps, and J.F. Williams, Energy- and momentum- resolved exchange and spin - orbit interaction in cobalt film by spin-polarized two-electron spectroscopy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 096402 (2006)
• S.N. Samarin, O.M. Artamonov, A.D. Sergeant, J.F. Williams, Electronic structure of thin cobalt film on W(110) by spin-polarized two-electron spectroscopy, Surf. Sci. 601, 4343 (2007)