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The magnetic ground state of biatomic Fe chains on the reconstructed (5×1)-Ir(001) surface is a cycloidal 120° spin spiral. Spin-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy reveals a striking variation of magnetic field dependences among the chains, which we attribute to parity effects resulting from finite lengths. Numerical simulations show that the chains are divided in three symmetry classes with the exact number of atoms in the chain determining the size and direction of their net magnetic moment. In contrast to antiferromagnetic systems, the three-atom periodicity causes the effective anisotropy to alternate between out of plane, in plane, and quenched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vector spin chirality is one of the fundamental characteristics of complex magnets. For a one-dimensional spin-spiral state it can be interpreted as the handedness, or rotational sense of the spiral. Here, using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy, we demonstrate the occurrence of an atomic-scale spin spiral in finite individual bi-atomic Fe chains on the (5 X 1) -- Ir(001) surface. We show that the broken inversion symmetry at the surface promotes one direction of the vector spin chirality, leading to a unique rotational sense of the spiral in all chains. Correspondingly, changes in the spin direction of one chain end can be probed tens of nanometers away, suggesting a new way of transmitting information about the state of magnetic objects on the nanoscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]