arXiv · cond-mat/0006237
Quantum Suppression of the Rayleigh Instability in Nanowires
Abstract
A linear stability analysis of metallic nanowires is performed in the free-electron model using quantum chaos techniques. It is found that the classical instability of a long wire under surface tension can be completely suppressed by electronic shell effects, leading to stable cylindrical configurations whose electrical conductance is a magic number 1, 3, 5, 6,... times the quantum of conductance. Our results are quantitatively consistent with recent experiments with alkali metal nanowires.
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F. Kassubek, C. A. Stafford, Hermann Grabert, Raymond E. Goldstein. 2000-10-30. Quantum Suppression of the Rayleigh Instability in Nanowires. https://doi.org/10.1088/0951-7715%2F14%2F1%2F310
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