Abstract
The electrical resistances of different (Xe)n atomic wires are calculated. For Xe and (Xe)2, confined in the gap of a scanning tunneling microscope junction, the dynamics of the xenon atoms upon approaching the probe tip is included. With a single Xe, in agreement with the recent work of Yazdani et al. (Science, 272 (1996) 1921), a resistance of 0.06 MΩ is found. The resistance of (Xe)2 ranges between 10 MΩ and 30 MΩ due to both mechanical deformations and electronic interferences. Finally, for longer (Xe)n wires, the resistance displays an exponential behavior with respect to n and an inverse damping length of 0.74 Å−1, very close to that of an alkane chain, is predicted.