Extended Moment Formation in Monolayer WS₂ Doped with 3d Transition-Metals

First-principles calculations with onsite Coulomb interaction and spin-orbit coupling are used to investigate the electronic structure of monolayer WS₂ doped substitutionally with 3d transition-metals. While neither W vacancies nor strain induce spin polarization, we demonstrate an unprecedented tendency to extended moment formation under doping. The extended magnetic moments are characterized by dopant-specific spin density patterns with rich structural features involving the nearest neighbor W and S atoms.