Length-dependent oscillations of the conductance through atomic chains: The importance of electronic correlations

Molina, Rafael A.; Weinmann, Dietmar; Pichard, Jean-Louis

Length-dependent oscillations of the conductance through atomic chains: The importance of electronic correlations

Authors

Molina, Rafael A.

Weinmann, Dietmar

Pichard, Jean-Louis

Description

We calculate the conductance of atomic chains as a function of their length. Using the Density Matrix Renormalization Group algorithm for a many-body model which takes into account electron-electron interactions and the shape of the contacts between the chain and the leads, we show that length-dependent oscillations of the conductance whose period depends on the electron density in the chain can result from electron-electron scattering alone. The amplitude of these oscillations can increase with the length of the chain, in contrast to the result from approaches which neglect the interactions.
7 pages, 4 figures