Calculation of the electrical conductance in multi-atom nanoconstrictions — A new quantitative theory

A new theory for determining the quantized electron conductance through multi-atom nanowires is presented by introducing a transmission-probability function from the Fermi–Dirac distribution. By virtue of this formulation and by using an approximate relationship between the conductance and the electronic density of states, an expression for the number of off-resonant conduction states is derived. In addition, some aspects related to atom–lead coupling are discussed. Our results agree well with experimental data.