We study competition between different phases in a strongly correlated nano-structure with an edge. Making use of the self-consistent Green's function and density matrix renormalization group methods, we study a system described by the t-Jz and t-J models on a strip of a square lattice with a linear hole density n || . At intermediate interaction strength J/t we find edge stripe-like states, reminiscent of the bulk stripes that occur at smaller J/t. We find that stripes attach to edges more readily than hole pairs, and that the edge stripes can exhibit a peculiar phase separation.PACS numbers: 71.10. Fd, 71.10.Pm It is well established by now that in the ground state of the two-dimensional (2D) strongly correlated cuprates, much studied in the context of the high-T c problem, 1,2 charge carriers tend to be distributed inhomogeneously. Such inhomogeneities occur as an attempt to reduce the frustration between the exchange and kinetic energies arising from the antiferromagnetic (AF) background. 1 It is conceivable that such frustration can be further reduced at a boundary. This would induce an effective attraction of the bulk inhomogeneity to the edge, thus leading to a novel, many-body type edge state. A bulk doped Mott insulator might have various types of striped, paired, or unpaired ground states. Ordinarily one is not concerned with surface states. However, for cuprate nanoscale structures, which are of interest due to recent progress in nano-synthesis, 3 one may potentially have a system with a finite doping in which the holes are bound to the edges. In this case, understanding the possible edge states is crucial.Here, we consider the simplified case of a half-plane, or similarly, one end of a long open cylinder, with a vanishingly small doping sufficient to form a finite linear concentration n = N h /L of holes near the edge. N h is the number of holes and L is the linear size of the system. Given this configuration, several questions arise. For example, if the holes form a single stripe in the bulk, does this stripe attach itself to the edge? Do single pairs attach to the edge? Can one have a one-dimensional (1D) "edge phase separation" with the holes clustered together in edge droplets?In this paper we address some of these questions in the context of the t-J z and t-J models, using the selfconsistent Green's function and the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) methods. We obtain an approximate edge phase diagram in which the linear hole density n is a control parameter. We find analytically, for the t-J z model, that the stripe edge states do exist in a substantial region of the phase diagram. This is verified for both the t-J z and t-J models using DMRG for systems up to 11×8 sites with periodic/open and 20×5 with open boundary conditions. We also find that the Ising anisotropy enhances tendency to the edge states formation. A remarkable feature of these states is that they are reminiscent of and, as we show in some detail, are directly related to the bulk stripe states observed in the studie...