There are two fundamental models for one-dimensional strongly correlated electrons: the Hubbard model and the t-J model. Recent intensive efforts have led to clarifying many important aspects of those systems, whose low-energy behaviors can be described as Luttinger liquid. This paper reviews current status of our understanding, which has been achieved with analytic and numerical approaches.
There are two fundamental models for one-dimensional strongly correlated electrons: the Hubbard model and the t-J model. Recent intensive efforts have led to clarifying many important aspects of those systems, whose low-energy behaviors can be described as Luttinger liquid. This paper reviews current status of our understanding, which has been achieved with analytic and numerical approaches.
We review the progress in the theory of one-dimensional (ID) Fermi liquids which has occurred over the past decade. The usual Fermi liquid theory, based on a quasi-particle picture, breaks down in one dimension because of the Peierls divergence in the particle-hole bubble, producing anomalous dimensions of operators, and because of charge-spin separation. Both are related to the importance of scattering processes transferring finite momentum. A description of the low-energy properties of gapless 1D quantum systems can be based on the exactly solvable Luttinger model which incorporates these features, and whose correlation functions can be calculated. Special properties of the eigenvalue spectrum, parameterized by one renormalized velocity and one effective coupling constant per degree of freedom, fully describe the physics of this model. Other gapless 1D models share these properties in a low-energy subspace. The concept of a "Luttinger liquid" implies that their low-energy properties are described by an effective Luttinger model, and constitutes the universality class of these quantum systems. Once the mapping on the Luttinger model is achieved, one has an asymptotically exact solution of the 1D many-body problem. Lattice models identified as Luttinger liquids include the 1D Hubbard model off half-filling, and variants such as the t-J- or the extended Hubbard model. In addition, 1D electron-phonon systems or metals with impurities can be Luttinger liquids, as well as the edge states in the quantum Hall effect.
One-dimensional conductors are a long-standing topic of research with direct applications to organic conductors and mesoscopic rings. The discovery of the ceramic high-temperature superconductors has revitalized the interest in low-dimensional charge and spin fluctuations of highly correlated electron systems. Several mechanisms proposed to explain the high-T c superconductors invoke properties of the two-dimensional Hubbard model, but probably also some one-dimensional aspects are relevant. Numerous one-dimensional models for correlated electrons have been studied with various approximate, asymptotically exact and exact methods. These results lead to the concept of Luttinger liquid for interacting electron gases without excitation gaps (metallic systems). Characteristic of Luttinger liquids are the charge and spin separation, marginal Fermi liquid properties, e.g. the absence of quasiparticles in the vicinity of the Fermi surface, nonuniversal power-law singularities in the one-particle spectral function and the related absence of a discontinuity in the momentum distribution at the Fermi level, the power-law decay of correlation functions for long times and large distances, persistent currents in finite rings, etc. Due to the peculiarities of the phase space in one dimension some of the models have sufficient conserved currents to be completely integrable. We review exact results derived within the framework of Bethe's ansatz for integrable one-dimensional models of correlated electrons. The Bethe-ansatz method is presented by explicitly showing the steps leading to the solution of the N-component electron gas interacting via a δ-function potential (repulsive and attractive interaction), which is probably the simplest model of correlated electrons. Emphasis is given to the procedure to extract the groundstate properties, the classification of states, the excitation spectrum, the thermodynamics and finite size effects, such as critical exponents of correlation functions and persistent currents. The method is then applied to numerous other models, e.g. (i) a two-band model involving attractive and repulsive potentials and crystalline fields splitting the bands, (ii) the traditional Hubbard chain with attractive and repulsive U, (iii) the degenerate Hubbard model with repulsive U, which displays a metal–insulator transition at a finite U, (iv) a two-band Hubbard model with repulsive U, (v) the traditional supersymmetric t–J model (vi) a two-band supersymmetric t–J model with band-splitting and (vii) the N-component supersymmetric t–J model. Finally, results for models with long-range interactions, in particular r-2 and sinh -2(r) potentials, are briefly reviewed.
The electronic system of the 1D Hubbard model is not stable due to Peierls instability; the correlations are strong even for the weak Coulomb interaction. The resulting strongly correlated state without Landau quisi--particle excitations is known as the Luttinger liquid. Critical exponents of a power--law dependence of correlation functions at low energies differ substantially for the Luttinger and Fermi liquids. In this paper we evaluate two critical exponents that define non--trivial behavior of the density of electronic states at low frequences and the momentum distribution of the occupation number nearby kF.
Many fundamental one-dimensional lattice models such as the Heisenberg or the Hubbard model are integrable. For these microscopic models, parameters in the Luttinger liquid theory can often be fixed and parameter-free results at low energies for many physical quantities such as dynamical correlation functions obtained where exact results are still out of reach. Quantum integrable models thus provide an important testing ground for low-energy Luttinger liquid physics. They are, furthermore, also very interesting in their own right and show, for example, peculiar transport and thermalization properties. The consequences of the conservation laws leading to integrability for the structure of the low-energy effective theory have, however, not fully been explored yet. I will discuss the connection between integrability and Luttinger liquid theory here, using the anisotropic Heisenberg model as an example. In particular, I will review the methods which allow to fix free parameters in the Luttinger model with the help of the Bethe ansatz solution. As applications, parameter-free results for the susceptibility in the presence of nonmagnetic impurities, for spin transport, and for the spin-lattice relaxation rate are discussed.
Many fundamental one-dimensional lattice models such as the Heisenberg or the Hubbard model are integrable. For these microscopic models, parameters in the Luttinger liquid theory can often be fixed and parameter-free results at low energies for many physical quantities such as dynamical correlation functions obtained where exact results are still out of reach. Quantum integrable models thus provide an important testing ground for low-energy Luttinger liquid physics. They are, furthermore, also very interesting in their own right and show, for example, peculiar transport and thermalization properties. The consequences of the conservation laws leading to integrability for the structure of the low-energy effective theory have, however, not fully been explored yet. I will discuss the connection between integrability and Luttinger liquid theory here, using the anisotropic Heisenberg model as an example. In particular, I will review the methods which allow to fix free parameters in the Luttinger model with the help of the Bethe ansatz solution. As applications, parameter-free results for the susceptibility in the presence of nonmagnetic impurities, for spin transport, and for the spin-lattice relaxation rate are discussed.
It is now possible to create wires consisting of a single chain of atoms on an insulating substrate, with possible applications in nanoscale circuitry. However, experimental data on such systems are currently rather limited and as such a thorough theoretical investigation of such systems is required. In particular, it is useful to know to what extent the behaviour of such wires is one-dimensional - purely one-dimensional systems display Luttinger liquid behaviour, as opposed to the Fermi liquid behaviour characteristic of higher dimensional systems. However, conventional techniques in theoretical surface science are unable to provide a description of electronic correlations at the level required for one dimensional systems. The existing literature on such atomic wire systems is first reviewed. A discussion of physics in one spatial dimension follows, with a thorough introduction to both the Luttinger liquid and the analytical solutions of the Luttinger model. These concepts are then applied to a simplified model of an atomic wire system - two coupled chains of atoms, on just one of which electron-electron interactions are included. The chain which includes interactions thus represents the wire, while the non-interacting chain represents, albeit incompletely, the influence of the insulating substrate upon which the wire is embedded. Evidence for Luttinger liquid behaviour would be found in the excitation spectra and correlation functions of the system. A Fortran 90 code was written to implement the above, and both a description of the code and numerical results are presented. The results from excitations and correlation functions of the system indicate that, within the limitations of the model, Luttinger liquid behaviour may well survive. It is possible to calculate for larger and more complicated systems by use of the Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) algorithm, which relies on keeping only those states of the many particle system needed to describe the ground state and the low-energy excitations. The underlying theory of DMRG is discussed and followed with presentation of preliminary results based on a Hubbard model Hamiltonian.