Electronic structure of atomic manganese chains supported on Cu${}_2$N / Cu (100)

Abstract

Scanning tunnelling microscopy and density functional theory studies of manganese chains adsorbed on Cu${}_2$N/Cu (100) reveal an unsuspected electronic edge state at $\sim 1$ eV above the Fermi energy. This Tamm-like state is strongly localised to the last Mn atom of the chain and fully spin polarised. However, no equivalence is found for occupied states, and the electronic structure at $\sim -1$ eV is mainly spin unpolarised due to the extended $p$-states of the N atoms that mediate the coupling between the Mn atoms in the chain. Odd-numbered Mn chains present an exponentially decreasing direct coupling with distance between the two edges, leading to a vanishing bonding/anti-bonding splitting of states while even-numbered Mn chains present perfect decoupling of both edges due to the the antiferromagnetic ordering of Mn chains.

References in corpus (3)

• Excitation of local magnetic moments by tunnelling electrons
• Parity effect in ground state localization of antiferromagnetic chains coupled to a ferromagnet
• Controlled complete suppression of single-atom inelastic spin and orbital cotunnelling

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Colloquium: Atomic spin chains on surfaces
• Structural and magnetic properties of FeMn${}_x$ ($x=$1...6) chains supported on Cu${}_2$N / Cu (100)
• Topological superconductivity in Fibonacci quasicrystals