Surface phonons are vibrational modes that occur at the surface of a solid material, as opposed to bulk phonons that exist within the interior of the material. Phonons are quantized modes of vibrations in a lattice structure, essential for understanding thermal and acoustic properties of solids. In a crystalline material, atoms are arranged in a periodic structure, and phonons typically arise from the collective oscillations of these atoms. When considering surfaces, the situation changes due to the truncation of the crystal lattice.
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