Conductance-Driven Kondo Effect in a Single Cobalt Atom

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how conductance influences the Kondo effect in a single cobalt atom junction, revealing an exponential relationship and the role of atomic relaxations through combined experimental and theoretical analysis.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the conductance-dependent behavior of the Kondo effect in atomic-scale junctions using both experimental STM data and Anderson model theory.

Findings

Kondo resonance width varies exponentially with conductance

Atomic relaxations affect the Kondo environment

Experimental and theoretical results are consistent

Abstract

A low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope is employed to build a junction comprising a Co atom bridging a copper-coated tip and a Cu(100) surface. An Abrikosov-Suhl-Kondo resonance is evidenced in the differential conductance and its width is shown to vary exponentially with the ballistic conductance regardless of the tip structure. Using a theoretical description based on the Anderson model, we show that the Kondo effect and the conductance are related through the atomic relaxations affecting the environment of the Co atom.