Temperature-dependent Luttinger surfaces

The Luttinger surface of an organic metal (TTF-TCNQ), possessing charge order and spin-charge separated band dispersions, is investigated using temperature-dependent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The Luttinger surface topology, obtained from momentum distribution curves, changes from quasi-2D (dimensional) to quasi-1D with temperature. The high temperature quasi-2D surface exhibits 4kF charge-density-wave (CDW) superstructure in the TCNQ derived holon band, in the absence of 2kF order. Decreasing temperature results in quasi-1D nested 2kF CDW order in the TCNQ spinon band and in the TTF surface. The results establish the link in momentum space between charge order and spin-charge separation in a Luttinger liquid.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy of a luttinger liquid

Explicit predictions for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on interacting one-dimensional electron systems are made using the Luttinger liquid formalism. The STM current changes with the distance from an impurity or boundary in a characteristic way, which reveals the spin-charge separation and the interaction strength in the system. The current exhibits Friedel-like oscillations, but also carries additional modulated behavior as a function of voltage and distance, which shows the spin-charge separation in real space. Moreover, very close to the boundary the current is strongly reduced, which is an indication of the interaction strength in the system.     

Spin-charge separation in the quantum spin Hall state

The quantum spin Hall state is a topologically nontrivial insulator state protected by the time-reversal symmetry. We show that such a state always leads to spin-charge separation in the presence of a pi flux. Our result is generally valid for any interacting system. We present a proposal to experimentally observe the phenomenon of spin-charge separation in the recently discovered quantum spin Hall system.     

Angle-resolved photoemission study of the MX-chain compound [Ni(chxn)(2)Br]Br(2): spin-charge separation in hybridized d-p chains

We report on the results of angle-resolved photoemission experiments on a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) MX-chain compound [Ni(chxn)2Br]Br2, which shows a gigantic nonlinear optical effect. A "band" having about 500 meV energy dispersion is found in the first half of the Brillouin zone, but disappears at kb/pi approximately 1/2. These spectral features are well reproduced by the d-p chain model with a small charge-transfer energy Delta compared with that of 1D Cu-O compounds. We propose that this smaller Delta is the origin of the absence of clear spin-charge separation in the photoemission spectra and the strong nonlinear optical effect.     

Spin-charge separation in ultracold quantum gases

We investigate the physical properties of quasi-1D quantum gases of fermionic atoms confined in harmonic traps. Using the fact that for a homogeneous gas the low-energy properties are exactly described by a Luttinger model, we analyze the nature and manifestations of spin-charge separation, where in the case of atoms "spin" and "charge" refer to two internal atomic states and the atomic mass density, respectively. We discuss the necessary physical conditions and experimental limitations confronting possible experimental implementations.     

Electron spectral function and algebraic spin liquid for the normal state of underdoped high T(c) superconductors

We propose to describe the spin fluctuations in the normal state (spin-pseudogap phase) of underdoped high T(c) cuprates as a manifestation of an algebraic spin liquid. Within the slave boson implementation of spin-charge separation, the normal state is described by massless Dirac fermions, charged bosons, and a gauge field. The gauge interaction, as an exact marginal perturbation, drives the mean-field free-spinon fixed point to a new spin-quantum fixed point-the algebraic spin liquid. Luttinger-liquid-like line shapes for the electron spectral function are obtained in the normal state, and we show how a coherent quasiparticle peak appears as spin and charge recombine.     

Photoinduced metallic state mediated by spin-charge separation in a one-dimensional organic Mott insulator

Charge dynamics in a one-dimensional (1D) Mott insulator was investigated by fs pump-probe reflection spectroscopy on an organic charge-transfer compound, bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene-difluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (ET-F2TCNQ). The analyses of the transient reflectivity changes demonstrate that low-energy spectral weight induced by photocarrier doping is concentrated on a Drude component being independent of the doping density, and midgap state is never formed. Such phenomena can be explained by the concept of spin-charge separation characteristic of 1D correlated electron systems.     

Thermal conductivity of ultrathin InSb semiconductor nanowires with properties of the Luttinger liquid

The thermal conductivity of ultrathin (～5 nm in diameter) and long (10 mm) InSb semiconductor quantum nanowires embedded in nanochannels of a dielectric chrysotile asbestos matrix is measured in the temperature range 5–300 K. The possible manifestation of the spin-charge separation of current carriers in these nanowires is discussed, which would provide an additional argument for the InSb nanowires possessing properties of the Luttinger liquid.     

Specific heat jump in non-Fermi superconductors

We derive the jump in the specific heat at T=T _c for a superconductor in a non-Fermi liquid model. We took into consideration the two possible limits in this problem: the spin-charge separation model for a Fermi liquid and the usual non-Fermi liquid model which satisfies the homogeneity relation for the spectral function , ). We also derive the order parameter behavior for these two cases in the vecinity of the critical temperature. Received: 25 January 1998 / Revised: 25 March 1998 / Accepted: 25 March 1998     

Dynamics of 2D electron wave packets with different initial spin polarization in 2D structures with spin-orbit coupling

The effect of splitting and zitterbewegung of 2D-electrons wave packets in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling has been investigated. It is shown that nonstandard dynamics of wave packets occurs in the systems where the complete system of eigenfunctions is formed by states with different chirality. The time evolution of wave packets depends on the initial electron spin orientation. It is established that the oscillations of packet centers decay with time. Similar effects were studied by us previously for packets with initial spin orientation perpendicular to the 2D electron gas plane.     

Role of spin-orbit splitting and dynamical fluctuations in the Si(557)-Au surface

Our ab initio calculations show that spin-orbit coupling is crucial to understand the electronic structure of the Si(557)-Au surface. The spin-orbit splitting produces the two one-dimensional bands observed in photoemission, which were previously attributed to spin-charge separation in a Luttinger liquid. This spin splitting might have relevance for future device applications. We also show that the apparent Peierls-like transition observed in this surface by scanning tunneling microscopy is a result of the dynamical fluctuations of the step-edge structure which are quenched as the temperature is decreased.     

On the theory of wave packets

In this paper we discuss some aspects of the theory of wave packets. We consider a popular noncovariant Gaussian model used in various applications and show that it predicts too slow a longitudinal dispersion rate for relativistic particles. We revise this approach by considering a covariant model of Gaussian wave packets, and examine our results by inspecting a wave packet of arbitrary form. A general formula for the time dependence of the dispersion of a wave packet of arbitrary form is found. Finally, we give a transparent interpretation of the disappearance of the wave function over time due to the dispersion—a feature often considered undesirable, but which is unavoidable for wave packets. We find, starting from simple examples, proceeding with their generalizations and finally by considering the continuity equation, that the integral over time of both the flux and probability densities are asymptotically proportional to the factor 1/|x|² in the rest frame of the wave packet, just as in the case of an ensemble of classical particles.     

Band splitting for Si(557)-Au: is it spin-charge separation?

It has been proposed that the Si(557)-Au surface exhibits spin-charge separation in a one-dimensional electron liquid. Two narrowly spaced bands are found which exhibit a well-defined splitting at the Fermi level. That is incompatible with the assignment to a spinon-holon pair in a Luttinger liquid. Instead, we propose that the two bands are associated with two nearly degenerate atomic chains, or a chain of step atoms with two broken bonds. Such an assignment explains why the surface is metallic despite an even number of electrons per unit cell.     

Stripes and superconductivity in a one-dimensional self-consistent model

We show that many observable properties of high-temperature superconductors can be obtained in the framework of a one-dimensional self-consistent model with included superconducting correlations. Analytical solutions for spin, charge, and superconductivity order parameters are found. The ground state of the model at low hole doping is a spin-charge solitonic superstructure. Increased doping leads to a transition to the superconducting phase. There is a region of doping where superconductivity, spin density wave, and charged stripe structure coexist. The charge density modulation appears in the vicinity of vortices (kinks in the 1D model) in the superconducting state.     

Phonon effects on spin-charge separation in one dimension

Phonon effects on spin-charge separation in one dimension are investigated through the calculation of one-electron spectral functions in terms of the recently developed cluster perturbation theory together with an optimized phonon approach. It is found that the retardation effect due to the finiteness of phonon frequency suppresses the spin-charge separation and eventually makes it invisible in the spectral function. By comparing our results with experimental data of TTF-TCNQ, it is observed that the electron-phonon interaction must be taken into account when interpreting the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data.     

Spin-charge separation in two-dimensional frustrated quantum magnets

The dynamics of a mobile hole in two-dimensional frustrated quantum magnets is investigated by exact diagonalization techniques. Our results provide evidence for spin-charge separation upon doping the kagome lattice, a prototype of a spin liquid. In contrast, in the checkerboard lattice, a symmetry broken valence bond crystal, a small quasiparticle peak is seen for some crystal momenta, a finding interpreted as a restoration of weak holon-spinon confinement.     

Neutrino wave function and oscillation suppression

We consider a thought experiment, in which a neutrino is produced by an electron on a nucleus in a crystal. The wave function of the oscillating neutrino is calculated assuming that the electron is described by a wave packet. If the electron is relativistic and the spatial size of its wave packet is much larger than the size of the crystal cell, then the wave packet of the produced neutrino has essentially the same size as the wave packet of the electron. We investigate the suppression of neutrino oscillations at large distances caused by two mechanisms: (1) spatial separation of wave packets corresponding to different neutrino masses; (2) neutrino energy dispersion for given neutrino mass eigenstates. We resolve the contributions of these two mechanisms. Received: 26 July 2005, Published online: 6 October 2005     

Wave packet echoes in the motion of trapped atoms

We experimentally demonstrate and systematically study the stimulated revival (echo) of motional wave packet oscillations. For this purpose, we prepare wave packets in an optical lattice by nonadiabatically shifting the potential and stimulate their reoccurrence by a second shift after a variable time delay. This technique, analogous to spin echoes, enables one even in the presence of strong dephasing to determine the coherence time of the wave packets. We find that for strongly bound atoms it is comparable to the cooling time and much longer than the inverse of the photon scattering rate.