Spin-exchange-induced dimerization of an atomic 1-D system

Nader Zaki; Chris A. Marianetti; Danda P. Acharya; Percy Zahl; Peter Sutter; Junichi Okamoto; Peter D. Johnson; Andrew J. Millis; Richard M. Osgood

doi:10.1103/physrevb.87.161406

arXiv · 1208.0612

Spin-exchange-induced dimerization of an atomic 1-D system

Nader Zaki·Chris A. Marianetti·Danda P. Acharya·Percy Zahl·Peter Sutter·Junichi Okamoto·Peter D. Johnson·Andrew J. Millis·Richard M. Osgood

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Abstract

Using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, we demonstrate an unambiguous 1-D system that surprisingly undergoes a CDW instability on a metallic substrate. Our ability to directly and quantitatively measure the structural distortion of this system provides an accurate reference for comparison with first principles theory. In comparison to previously proposed physical mechanisms, we attribute this particular 1-D CDW instability to a ferromagnetic state. We show that though the linear arrayed dimers are not electronically isolated, they are magnetically independent, and hence can potentially serve as a binary spin-memory system.

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Nader Zaki, Chris A. Marianetti, Danda P. Acharya, Percy Zahl, Peter Sutter, Junichi Okamoto, Peter D. Johnson, Andrew J. Millis, Richard M. Osgood. 2012-08-02. Spin-exchange-induced dimerization of an atomic 1-D system. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.87.161406

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