Theory of Magnetic Edge States in Chiral Graphene Nanoribbons

Using a model Hamiltonian approach including electron-electron interactions, we systematically investigate the electronic structure and magnetic properties of chiral graphene nanoribbons. We show that the presence of magnetic edge states is an intrinsic feature of smooth graphene nanoribbons with chiral edges, and discover a number of structure-property relations. Specifically, we study the dependence of magnetic moments and edge-state energy splittings on the nanoribbon width and chiral angle as well as the role of environmental screening effects. Our results address a recent experimental observation of signatures of magnetic ordering in chiral graphene nanoribbons and provide an avenue towards tuning their properties via the structural and environmental degrees of freedom.