Pierre Duclos, Pavel Exner, Ondrej Turek On the spectrum of a bent chain graph (371K, pdf) ABSTRACT. We study Schr\"odinger operators on an infinite quantum graph of a chain form which consists of identical rings connected at the touching points by $\delta$-couplings with a parameter $\alpha\in\R$. If the graph is ``straight'', i.e. periodic with respect to ring shifts, its Hamiltonian has a band spectrum with all the gaps open whenever $\alpha\ne 0$. We consider a ``bending'' deformation of the chain consisting of changing one position at a single ring and show that it gives rise to eigenvalues in the open spectral gaps. We analyze dependence of these eigenvalues on the coupling $\alpha$ and the ``bending angle'' as well as resonances of the system coming from the bending. We also discuss the behaviour of the eigenvalues and resonances at the edges of the spectral bands.