Within a 2-D scattering model, we investigate the vibrational relaxation ofan idealized molecule colliding with a metal surface. Two perturbativenonadiabatic dynamics schemes are compared: $(i)$ electronic friction (EF) and$(ii)$ classical master equations (CME). In addition, we also study a thirdapproach, $(iii)$ a broadened classical master equation (BCME) thatinterpolates between approaches $(i)$ and $(ii)$. Two conclusions emerge.First, even though we do not have exact data to compare against, we find thereis strong evidence suggesting that EF results may be spurious for scatteringproblems with more than one nuclear dimension. Second, we find that there is anoptimal molecule-metal coupling that maximizes vibrational relaxation rates byinducing large nonadiabatic interactions.
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