Covalent origin of adsorbate-induced demagnetization at ferromagnetic surfaces

Abstract
First-principles density-functional theory calculations are presented for the chemisorption of NO on Ni{110}. These demonstrate a strong localization of the adsorbate-induced demagnetization at ferromagnetic surfaces, suggestive of a covalent origin for this intriguing phenomenon. Comparisons with previous work for CO adsorption on the same substrate reveal a number of similarities, but additionally suggest that the initially unpaired electron of the NO molecule results in a more pronounced demagnetization effect.