Using helium atom scattering to identify adsorbate interactions and separate the effects of long and short range forces.

The adsorption of sodium on Ru(0001) is studied using $^3$He spin-echo spectroscopy (HeSE), molecular dynamics simulations (MD) and density functional theory (DFT). In the multi-layer regime, an analysis of helium...

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Incorporating relativistic physics into quantum tunneling can lead to exotic behavior such as perfect transmission through Klein tunneling. Here, we probed the tunneling properties of spin-momentum-locked relativistic fermions by designing and implementing a tunneling geometry that uses nanowires of the topological Kondo insulator candidate samarium hexaboride. The nanowires are attached to the end of scanning tunneling microscope tips and used to image the bicollinear stripe spin order in the antiferromagnet Fe 1.03 Te with a Neel temperature of about 50 kelvin. The antiferromagnetic stripes become invisible above 10 kelvin concomitant with the suppression of the topological surface states in the tip. We further demonstrate that the direction of spin polarization is tied to the tunneling direction. Our technique establishes samarium hexaboride nanowires as ideal conduits for spin-polarized currents.