Localization and hybridization of the electronic states in thin films of Ag on V(100)

We have studied the electronic states in one- to five-layers-thick Ag films on V(100), by means of ab initio density-functional calculations. Due to the mismatch of the electronic structure of Ag and V, quantum-well states of both sp and d character localized on Ag films are formed. We find that the hybridization of the Ag quantum-well states with the V orbitals is nevertheless important, and must be taken into account in order to fully understand the observed properties, in particular the energies and the dispersion of the photoemission peaks in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments.