Dynamical response of a one-dimensional quantum-wire electron system

Integrated Plasmonics: Broadband Dirac Plasmons in Borophene

The past decade has witnessed numerous discoveries of two-dimensional (2D) semimetals and insulators, whereas 2D metals were rarely identified. Borophene, a monolayer boron sheet, has recently emerged as a perfect 2D metal with unique electronic properties. Here we study collective excitations in borophene, which exhibit two major plasmon modes with low damping rates extending from the infrared to ultraviolet regime. The anisotropic 1D plasmon originates from electronic transitions of tilted Dirac cones in borophene, analogous to that in extreme doped graphene. These features enable borophene as an integrated platform of 1D, 2D, and Dirac plasmons, promising for directional polariton transport and broadband optical communication in next-generation optoelectronic devices.

Nonlinear Luttinger liquid plasmons in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

Interacting electrons confined in one dimension are generally described by the Luttinger liquid formalism, where the low-energy electronic dispersion is assumed to be linear and the resulting plasmonic excitations are non-interacting. Instead, a Luttinger liquid in one-dimensional materials with nonlinear electronic bands is expected to show strong plasmon-plasmon interactions, but an experimental demonstration of this behaviour has been lacking. Here, we combine infrared nano-imaging and electronic transport to investigate the behaviour of plasmonic excitations in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes with carrier density controlled by electrostatic gating. We show that both the propagation velocity and the dynamic damping of plasmons can be tuned continuously, which is well captured by the nonlinear Luttinger liquid theory. These results contrast with the gate-independent plasmons observed in metallic nanotubes, as expected for a linear Luttinger liquid. Our findings provide an experimental demonstration of one-dimensional electron dynamics beyond the conventional linear Luttinger liquid paradigm and are important for understanding excited-state properties in one dimension.

Dynamic correlation effects on correlational properties of finite-temperature quasi-one-dimensional electron gas

We have studied correlational properties of quasi-one-dimensional electron gas at finite temperatureTby incorporating the dynamics of electron correlations within the quantum version of the self-consistent mean-field approach of Singwi, Tosi, Land, and Sjölander. Static structure factor, pair-correlation function, static density susceptibility, excess kinetic energy, and free correlation energy are calculated covering a wide range of temperature and electron number density. As at absolute zero temperature, the inclusion of dynamics of correlations results in stronger spatial electron correlations, with a pronounced peak in the static structure factor at wave vectorq∼ 3.5kF, which grows further with decreasing electron density. Below a critical density, the static density susceptibility seems to diverge at this value ofq, signaling a transition from liquid to the Wigner crystal state-a prediction in qualitative agreement with recent simulations and experiment. However, thermal effects tend to impede crystallization with the consequence that the critical density decreases significantly with risingT. On the other hand, the pair-correlation function at short range exhibits a non-monotonic dependence onT, initially becoming somewhat stronger with risingTand then weakening continuously above a sufficiently highT. The calculated free correlation energy shows a noticeable dependence onT, with its magnitude increasing with increase inT. Further, we have looked into the effect of temperature on the frequency-dependence of dynamic local-field correction factor and the plasmon dispersion. It is found that with risingTthe dynamics of correlations weakens, and the plasmon frequency exhibits a blue shift. Wherever interesting, we have compared our results with the lower-order approximate calculations and zero-Tquantum Monte Carlo simulations.

Metallic Carbon Nanotube Nanocavities as Ultracompact and Low-loss Fabry-Perot Plasmonic Resonators

Plasmonic resonators enable deep subwavelength manipulation of light matter interactions and have been intensively studied both in fundamental physics as well as for potential technological applications. While various metallic nanostructures have been proposed as plasmonic resonators, their performances are rather limited at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths. Recently, highly confined and low-loss Luttinger liquid plasmons in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been observed at infrared wavelengths. Here, we tailor metallic SWNTs into ultraclean nanocavities by advanced scanning probe lithography and investigate plasmon modes in these individual nanocavities by infrared nanoimaging. The dependence of mode evolutions on cavity length and excitation wavelength can be captured by a Fabry-Perot resonator model of a plasmon nanowaveguide terminated by highly reflective ends. Plasmonic resonators based on SWNT nanocavities approach the ultimate plasmon confinement limit and open the door to the strong light-matter coupling regime, which may enable various nanophotonic applications.

Anisotropic 2D metallicity: plasmons in Ge(1 0 0)-Au

The low-energy plasmonic excitations of the Ge(0 0 1)-Au close to one monolayer coverage of Au were investigated by momentum-resolved high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. A very weak plasmonic loss was identified dispersing along the chain direction of the [Formula: see text] formed at these Au coverages. The measured dispersion was compared with the Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid (TLL) model and with a model for an anisotropic Fermi liquid. Using the TLL model both for single and arrays of wires, no consistent picture turned up that could describe all available data. On the contrary, a quasi-one-dimensional model of a confined 2D electron gas gave a satisfactorily consistent description of the data. From these results for the collective low-energy excitations we conclude that the Ge(0 0 1)-Au system is reasonably well described by a strongly anisotropic 2D Fermi liquid, but is incompatible with a TLL.

Lateral electronic screening in quasi-one-dimensional plasmons

The properties of one-dimensional (1D) plasmons are rather unexplored. We investigated the plasmonic collective excitations, measured as one-dimensional plasmon dispersions with electron energy loss spectroscopy, highly resolved both in energy and lateral momentum, for both phases of Au induced chains on stepped Si(553) substrates. We observe 1D dispersions that are strongly influenced by the lateral chain width and by the interchain coupling. Indications for the existence of two different plasmons originating from two surface bands of the systems are given for the low coverage phase.

Relaxation of plasma waves in Fermi-degenerate quantum plasmas

Plasma waves in a Fermi-degenerate quantum plasma are studied in the framework of the Vlasov-Poisson self-consistent-field theory. A complete time-dependent analytical solution of the initial-value problem is obtained for a multistream model both by stationary-wave and Laplace-transform methods. In the continuum limit, the excitation spectrum can be expressed by the imaginary part of the response function to the initial perturbations. The relaxation of plasma waves is discussed for one-dimensional systems with both Fermi and Maxwellian statistics. Apart from the usual exponential Landau damping, regimes of sub- and superexponential damping can be identified due to the phase relaxation of single-particle excitations. In addition, beat waves and echoes are discussed.

Carrier plasmon induced nonlinear band gap renormalization in two-dimensional semiconductors

In reduced-dimensional semiconductors, doping-induced carrier plasmons can strongly couple with quasiparticle excitations, leading to a significant band gap renormalization. However, the physical origin of this generic effect remains obscure. We develop a new plasmon-pole theory that efficiently and accurately captures this coupling. Using monolayer MoS(2) and MoSe(2) as prototype two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, we reveal a striking band gap renormalization above 400 meV and an unusual nonlinear evolution of their band gaps with doping. This prediction significantly differs from the linear behavior that is observed in one-dimensional structures. Notably, our predicted band gap renormalization for MoSe(2) is in excellent agreement with recent experimental results. Our developed approach allows for a quantitative understanding of many-body interactions in general doped 2D semiconductors and paves the way for novel band gap engineering techniques.

Confinement and correlation effects on plasmons in an atom-scale metallic wire

We have studied the effect of confinement and correlations on the plasmon dispersion in an atom-scale metallic wire by determining the electron density response function. The wire electrons are modelled as comprising a quasi-one-dimensional homogeneous gas, with different transverse confinement models. The response function is calculated by including electron correlations beyond the random-phase approximation within the self-consistent mean-field approach of Singwi et al (1968 Phys. Rev. 176 589). The plasmon dispersion results are found to be in very good agreement with the recent electron-energy-loss spectroscopy measurements by Nagao et al (2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 116802). However, our predictions are found to depend strongly on the nature of the confinement model, the structure of the one-dimensional electronic band and the electron effective mass, implying a crucial role for the wire structure.

Spin-zero sound in one- and quasi-one-dimensional 3He

The zero sound spectrum of fluid 3He confined to a cylindrical shell is examined for configurations characterizing strictly one-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional regimes. It is shown that the restricted dimensionality makes room to the possibility of spin-zero sound for the attractive particle-hole interaction of liquid helium. This fact can be related to the suppression of phase instabilities and thermodynamic phase transitions in one dimension.

High-field franz-keldysh effect and exciton ionization in semiconductor quantum wires

We investigate the Franz-Keldysh effect and exciton ionization in semiconductor quantum wires. Absorption spectra are calculated near the band gap by solution of the low-density semiconductor Bloch equations in real space. The Sommerfeld factor and field-induced tunnel ionization of the exciton significantly affect the continuum portion of the absorption spectrum and remove the well known divergence problem associated with the 1D density of states at all field strengths. For reasonable electric field strengths substantial and tunable absorption oscillations appear above the band gap. Moreover, for very large fields, transparency can be achieved in the continuum for certain spectral positions.