Using first-principles density-functional calculations, gold monatomic wires are found to exhibit a zigzag shape which remains under tension, becoming linear just before breaking. At room temperature they are found to spin, which explains the extremely long apparent interatomic distances shown by electron microscopy. The zigzag structure is stable if the tension is relieved, the wire holding its chainlike shape even as a free-standing cluster. This unexpected metallic-wire stiffness stems from the transverse quantization in the wire, as shown in a simple free electron model.

• Received 17 May 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.3884