  We have performed first-principles calculations of graphene edge stresses,
which display two interesting quantum manifestations absent from the classical
interpretation: the armchair edge stress oscillates with a nanoribbon width,
and the zigzag edge stress is noticeably reduced by spin polarization. Such
quantum stress effects in turn manifest in mechanical edge twisting and warping
instability, showing features not captured by empirical potentials or continuum
theory. Edge adsorption of H and Stone-Wales reconstruction are shown to
provide alternative mechanisms in relieving the edge compression and hence to
stabilize the planar edge structure.
