Scanning tunnelling microscopy and density functional theory studies of manganese chains adsorbed on Cu2N/Cu (100) reveal an unsuspected electronic edge state at ∼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 ∼−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.
@article{arxiv.1603.00745,
title = {Electronic structure of atomic manganese chains supported on Cu$_2$N / Cu (100)},
author = {Deung-Jang Choi and Roberto Robles and Jean-Pierre Gauyacq and Carmen Rubio Verdú and Nicolás Lorente and José Ignacio Pascual},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1603.00745},
year = {2018}
}