  Spin chains are promising media for short-haul quantum communication. Their
usefulness is manifested in all those situations where stationary information
carriers are involved. In the majority of the communication schemes relying on
quantum spin chains, the latter are assumed to be finite in length, with well
addressable end-chain spins. In this paper we propose that such configuration
could actually be achieved by a mechanism that is able to effectively cut a
spin ring through the insertion of bond defects. We then show how suitable
physical quantities can be identified as figures of merit for the effectiveness
of the cut. We find that, even for modest strengths of the bond defect, a ring
is effectively cut at the defect site. In turn, this has important effects on
the amount of correlations shared by the spins across the resulting chain,
which we study by means of a scattering-based mechanism of a clear physical
interpretation.

Quantum Physics;Other Condensed Matter