AbstractThe energy loss of slow atoms is studied from the viewpoint of the indirect excitation of low‐energy electron–hole pairs, i.e., the excitations of electron–hole pairs through the electron exchange process from the metal to the projectile's atomic states, and vice versa. For the slow atom,v≪vF(vandvFare the velocity of the projectile and the Fermi velocity, respectively), electrons have enough velocity for response, thus the atomic states are not well defined due to the screening effect and the electron exchange processes. By constructing the model Hamiltonian which describes such effects from first principles the stopping power at grazing incidence condition, especially for the Cs surface, is cal