title: Distance dependence of the interaction between single atoms: gold dimers on NiAl(110).
abstract: The importance of substrate-mediated adsorbate-adsorbate interactions on electronic states has been demonstrated for Au dimers on NiAl(110) with a scanning tunneling microscope and density functional calculations. An unoccupied resonance observed in single Au atoms splits into a doublet in Au dimers. The energy splitting depends inversely on the distance between the two adatoms, revealing the relative importance of direct and substrate-mediated interactions. Spatially resolved conductance measurements of Au dimers reveal the symmetric and antisymmetric characters of the doublet states.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-4575, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nilius
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Wallis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ho