We present a generic grand-canonical theory for the Peierls transition in atomic wires deposited on semiconducting substrates such as In/Si(111) using a mean-field solution of the one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. We show that this simple low-energy effective model for atomic wires can explain naturally the occurrence of a first-order Peierls transition between a uniform metallic phase at high-temperature and a dimerized insulating phase at low temperature as well as the existence of a metastable uniform state below the critical temperature.
@article{arxiv.1908.10202,
title = {Grand-canonical Peierls theory for atomic wires on substrates},
author = {Yasemin Ergün and Eric Jeckelmann},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1908.10202},
year = {2020}
}