Controlled trapping of single particle states on a periodic substrate by deterministic stubbing

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how a periodic atomic array can trap electronic states through deterministic side attachments, transforming into an array of quantum wells with hierarchical widths, using a real space renormalization group approach.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method based on real space renormalization to analyze state trapping in periodically stubbed atomic arrays, revealing a correlation between atom placement and energy eigenvalues.

Findings

Electronic states can be trapped by deterministic side atoms.

The backbone transforms into an array of quantum wells in the thermodynamic limit.

Hierarchical well widths support standing wave solutions.

Abstract

A periodic array of atomic sites, described within a tight binding formalism is shown to be capable of trapping electronic states as it grows in size and gets stubbed by an atom or an atomic clusters from a side in a deterministic way. We prescribe a method based on a real space renormalization group method, that unravels a subtle correlation between the positions of the side coupled atoms and the energy eigenvalues for which the incoming particle finally gets trapped. We discuss how, in such conditions, the periodic backbone gets transformed into an array of infinite quantum wells in the thermodynamic limit. We present a case here, where the wells have a hierarchically distribution of widths, hosing standing wave solutions in the thermodynamic limit.