{
  "id": "cond-mat/0608373",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2006-08-17T19:41:29.000Z",
  "updated": "2006-08-17T19:41:29.000Z",
  "title": "Stability and Symmetry Breaking in Metal Nanowires",
  "authors": [
    "D. F. Urban",
    "J. Bürki",
    "C. A. Stafford",
    "Hermann Grabert"
  ],
  "comment": "12 pages, 4 figures",
  "journal": "Phys. Rev. B 74, 245414 (2006)",
  "doi": "10.1103/PhysRevB.74.245414",
  "categories": [
    "cond-mat.mes-hall"
  ],
  "abstract": "A general linear stability analysis of simple metal nanowires is presented using a continuum approach which correctly accounts for material-specific surface properties and electronic quantum-size effects. The competition between surface tension and electron-shell effects leads to a complex landscape of stable structures as a function of diameter, cross section, and temperature. By considering arbitrary symmetry-breaking deformations, it is shown that the cylinder is the only generically stable structure. Nevertheless, a plethora of structures with broken axial symmetry is found at low conductance values, including wires with quadrupolar, hexapolar and octupolar cross sections. These non-integrable shapes are compared to previous results on elliptical cross sections, and their material-dependent relative stability is discussed.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2006-08-17T19:41:29.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "symmetry breaking",
      "general linear stability analysis",
      "material-specific surface properties",
      "octupolar cross sections",
      "simple metal nanowires"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "journal article"
    ],
    "publication": {
      "publisher": "APS",
      "journal": "Phys. Rev. B"
    },
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 12,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}