Atomic chains on surfaces

The physical and electronic properties of atomic chains formed on various surfaces have become one of the most popular fields of study in surface science. Due to the inherent one-dimensional nature of these chains, various exotic physical phenomena specific to one-dimensional systems have been observed. Among them are Peierls instability and Luttinger liquid behavior. This topical review briefly introduces the physics of these one-dimensional atomic chains and gives some examples from the recently published literature.