Modelling the influence of nonthermal electron dynamics in thin and ultrathin gold films

The effect of both nonthermal and thermal hot electron populations on the ultrafast transient reflectivity of thin and ultrathin gold films has been considered. The hot electron dynamics are calculated based on the recent model of Carpene [E. Carpene, Physical Review B 74 (2006) 024301], modified for film thickness phenomena. The effect of laser fluence, film thickness, probe wavelength and metal band structure are all considered. The consequences of the model for calculating rates of hot electron attachment to adsorbates are discussed. Finally the predictions are compared with experimental data.