Surface-response functions obtained from equilibrium electron-density profiles

Abstract: Surface-response functions are one of the most promising routes for bridging the gap between fully quantum-mechanical calculations and phenomenological models in quantum nanoplasmonics. Within all the currently available recipes for obtaining such response functions, \emph{ab initio} calculations remain one of the most predominant, wherein the surface-response function are retrieved via the metal's non-equilibrium response to an external perturbation. Here, we present a complementary approach where one of the most appealing surface-response functions, namely the Feibelman $d$-parameters, yield a finite contribution even in the case where they are calculated directly from the equilibrium properties described under the local-response approximation (LRA), but with a spatially varying equilibrium electron density. Using model calculations that mimic both spill-in and spill-out of the equilibrium electron density, we show that the obtained $d$-parameters are in qualitative agreement with more elaborate, but also more computationally demanding, \emph{ab initio} methods. The analytical work presented here illustrates how microscopic surface-response functions can emerge out of entirely local electrodynamic considerations.