Role of spin-orbit splitting and dynamical fluctuations in the Si(557)-Au surface.
Our ab initio calculations show that spin-orbit coupling is crucial to understand the electronic structure of the Si(557)-Au surface. The spin-orbit splitting produces the two one-dimensional bands observed in photoemission, which were previously attributed to spin-charge separation in a Luttinger liquid. This spin splitting might have relevance for future device applications. We also show that the apparent Peierls-like transition observed in this surface by scanning tunneling microscopy is a result of the dynamical fluctuations of the step-edge structure which are quenched as the temperature is decreased.
Sánchez-Portal
Daniel
D
Unidad de Física de Materiales CSIC-UPV/EHU, Donostia International Physics Center, and Departamento de Física de Materiales, Universidad del País Vasco, Apdo. 1072, 20080 Donostia, Spain. sqbsapod@sc.ehu.es
Riikonen
Sampsa
S
Martin
Richard M
RM