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arXiv:2207.12014 · The Journal of Chemical Physics

The Wigner localization of interacting electrons in a one-dimensional harmonic potential

Xabier Telleria‐Allika, Miguel Escobar Azor, Grégoire François, Gian Luigi Bendazzoli, Jon Mattin Matxain, Xabier López, Stefano Evangelisti, J. A. Berger

Published Oct 10, 2022• 3 citations
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Abstract

In this work, we study the Wigner localization of interacting electrons that are confined to a quasi-one-dimensional harmonic potential using accurate quantum chemistry approaches. We demonstrate that the Wigner regime can be reached using small values of the confinement parameter. To obtain physical insight in our results, we analyze them with a semi-analytical model for two electrons. Thanks to electronic-structure properties such as the one-body density and the particle-hole entropy, we are able to define a path that connects the Wigner regime to the Fermi-gas regime by varying the confinement parameter. In particular, we show that the particle-hole entropy, as a function of the confinement parameter, smoothly connects the two regimes. Moreover, it exhibits a maximum that could be interpreted as the transition point between the localized and delocalized regimes.

DOI
10.1063/5.0112413

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In this work, we study the Wigner localization of interacting electrons that are confined to a quasi-one-dimensional harmonic potential using accurate quantum chemistry approaches. We demonstrate that the Wigner regime can be reached using small values of the confinement parameter. To obtain physical insight in our results, we analyze them with a semi-analytical model for two electrons. Thanks to electronic-structure properties such as the one-body density and the particle-hole entropy, we are able to define a path that connects the Wigner regime to the Fermi-gas regime by varying the confinement parameter. In particular, we show that the particle-hole entropy, as a function of the confinement parameter, smoothly connects the two regimes. Moreover, it exhibits a maximum that could be interpreted as the transition point between the localized and delocalized regimes.
In this work we investigate Wigner localization at very low densities by means of the exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian. This yields numerically exact results. In particular, we study a quasi-one-dimensional system of two electrons that are confined to a ring by three-dimensional gaussians placed along the ring perimeter. To characterize the Wigner localization we study several appropriate observables, namely the two-body reduced density matrix, the localization tensor and the particle-hole entropy. We show that the localization tensor is the most promising quantity to study Wigner localization since it accurately captures the transition from the delocalized to the localized state and it can be applied to systems of all sizes.
We use a BCS-type variational wave function to study attractively interacting quasi-one-dimensional fermionic atomic gases, motivated by cold-atom experiments that access the one-dimensional regime using an anisotropic harmonic trapping potential (with trapping frequencies ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{x}={\ensuremath{\omega}}_{y}\ensuremath{\gg}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{z}$) that confines the gas to a cigar-shaped geometry. To handle the presence of the trap along the zzz direction, we construct our variational wave function from the harmonic oscillator Hermite functions, which are the eigenstates of the single-particle problem. Using an analytic determination of the effective interaction among harmonic oscillator states along with a numerical solution of the resulting variational equations, we make specific experimental predictions for how pairing correlations would be revealed in experimental probes, such as the local density and the momentum correlation function.
We investigate the ground-state properties of ultracold two-component Fermi gases in the presence of a transverse harmonic potential, focusing on the strongly interacting regime in which pairs of fermions form tightly bound molecules. Using the fixed-node diffusion Monte Carlo method, we calculate the equation of state and density profiles for the full fermionic system, which allows us to address the importance of finite-range corrections arising from the internal fermionic structure of the dimers. We interpret the results in terms of a molecular Bose gas in quasi-two-dimensional confinement and compare them with theoretical predictions for a weakly interacting two-dimensional Bose gas, identifying the range of validity of mean-field and beyond-mean-field descriptions. We also develop an analytical theory for the transverse density profile, capturing its broadening with increasing interaction strength. This work provides a benchmark for an effective bosonic description of strongly bound fermionic dimers and offers insights into confinement-induced dimensional effects.
In this work, we investigate the Wigner localization of two interacting electrons at very low density in two and three dimensions using the exact diagonalization of the many-body Hamiltonian. We use our recently developed method based on Clifford periodic boundary conditions with a renormalized distance in the Coulomb potential. To accurately represent the electronic wave function, we use a regular distribution in space of Gaussian-type orbitals and we take advantage of the translational symmetry of the system to efficiently calculate the electronic wave function. We are thus able to accurately describe the wave function up to very low density. We validate our approach by comparing our results to a semi-classical model that becomes exact in the low-density limit. With our approach, we are able to observe the Wigner localization without ambiguity.
Abstract We study the ground-state properties of quasi-one-dimensional paramagnetic electron fluid using variational quantum Monte Carlo method. The electrons are transversally confined using the harmonically regularized Coulomb potential with long range order. In this work we have investigated the crossover from liquid to crystalline phase in the finite width paramagnetic quantum wire. The calculated pair correlation function shows the oscillations of period 2rsa02r_\text {s} a_02rs​a0​ 2 r s a 0 , where a0a_0a0​ a 0 is the Bohr’s radius and rsr_\text {s}rs​ r s is Wigner Seitz radius or electron-density parameter which corresponds to a k=4kFk=4k_\text {F}k=4kF​ k = 4 k F peak with kFk_\text {F}kF​ k F being Fermi wave vector in the static structure factor at finite electron density. It is a signature of the onset of Wigner crystallization. It is found that the cross-over from liquid to a quasi-Wigner phase is due to enhancement of the electron correlation effects as rsr_\text {s}rs​ r s increases or as the wire width b decreases.
A one-dimensional interacting electron gas in a random potential exhibits a localized-delocalized transition for increasingly attractive interactions. We develop here a renormalization-group approach to study this transition. Our treatment allows us to obtain the phase diagram and the exponents of the correlation functions in the delocalized regime. The boundary between the two regimes is found to depend both on disorder and the strength of the interactions. For (nearly) spin-isotropic interactions the delocalized phase is dominated by superconducting fluctuations of either singlet or triplet type. The temperature dependence of the conductivity in the delocalized phase is also obtained and a nonuniversal power-law behavior is found. A description of the crossover towards the localized phase is given and the localization length is computed. An analogous description is developed for the localized-superfluid transition of a one-dimensional boson gas. In this case the transition to the localized regime occurs for increasingly repulsive interactions. We suggest a phase diagram with two different localized phases. Finally, we discuss some possible implications of our model for real quasi-one-dimensional metals.