arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L. Niebergall.
Ab initio calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the quantum confinement of surface electrons to nanoislands can significantly affect the growth process at low temperatures. Formation of empty zones and orbits of an adatom motion is demonstrated for Cu nanoislands on Cu(111).
The state of the art ab initio calculations of quantum mirages,the spin-polarization of surface-state electrons and the exchange interaction between magnetic adatoms in Cu and Co corrals on Cu(111) are presented. We find that the spin-polarization of the surface-state electrons caused by magnetic adatoms can be projected to a remote location and can be strongly enhanced in corrals compared to an open surface.Our studies give a clear evidence that quantum corrals could permit to tailor the exchange interaction between magnetic adatoms at large separations. The spin-polarization of surface-state electrons at the empty focus in the Co corral used in the experimental setup of Manoharan et al., (Nature 403, 512 (2000)) is revealed.
We present a newly developed scheme for atomic relaxations of magnetic supported clusters. Our approach is based on the full potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green's function method and the second moment tight-binding approximation for many-body potentials. We demonstrate that only a few iterations in ab initio calculations are necessary to find an equilibrium structure of supported clusters. As an example, we present our results for small Co clusters on Cu(001). Changes in electronic and magnetic states of clusters due to atomic relaxations are revealed.
Ab initio calculations of surface-state mediated interactions between Cu adatoms on transition metal surfaces are presented. We concentrate on Co/Cu(111) and Co(0001) substrates and compare results with our calculations for Cu(111). Our studies show that surface states of Co/Cu(111) and Co(0001) are spin-polarized. We reveal that long-range interactions between adatoms are mainly determined by sp-majority states. In contrast to Cu(111) and Co/Cu(111), the interaction between adatoms on Co(0001) is strongly suppressed at large adsorbate separations.