Finite-temperature properties of a non-Fermi-liauid system is one of the most challenging problems in the current understanding of strongly correlated electron systems. The paradigmatic arena for studying non-Fermi liauids is in one dimension, where the concept of a Luttinger liauid has arisen. The existence of a critical point at zero temperature in one-dimensional systems, and the fact that experiments are all undertaken at finite temperatures, implies a need for these one-dimensional systems to be examined at finite temperatures. Accordingly, we extended the well-known bosonization method of one-dimensional electron systems to finite temperatures. We have used this new bosonization method to calculate finite-temperature asymptotic correlation functions for linear fermions, the Tomonaga-Luttinger model, and the Hubbard model.
Finite-temperature properties of a non-Fermi-liauid system is one of the most challenging problems in the current understanding of strongly correlated electron systems. The paradigmatic arena for studying non-Fermi liauids is in one dimension, where the concept of a Luttinger liauid has arisen. The existence of a critical point at zero temperature in one-dimensional systems, and the fact that experiments are all undertaken at finite temperatures, implies a need for these one-dimensional systems to be examined at finite temperatures. Accordingly, we extended the well-known bosonization method of one-dimensional electron systems to finite temperatures. We have used this new bosonization method to calculate finite-temperature asymptotic correlation functions for linear fermions, the Tomonaga-Luttinger model, and the Hubbard model.
In this thesis the method of bosonization of fermionic many-body systems in any number of dimensions is developed. After an introduction to the problem in chapter 1 and to the method of bosonization in chapter 2 (with its application to the non-interacting problem) the Fermi liquid behavior of interacting fermions in dimensions higher than one is discussed in chapter 3. In chapter 4 I rederive the well-known bosonization of the Tomonaga-Luttinger model in one dimension within the framework discussed in the preceding chapters. In chapter 5 I present the bosonization of elementary excitations of exactly solvable one dimensional systems with special emphasis on the Hubbard chain. Chapter 6 contains the conclusions.
We discuss the technique of bosonization for studying systems of interacting fermions in one dimension. After briefly reviewing the low-energy properties of Fermi and Luttinger liquids, we present some of the relations between bosonic and fermionic operators in one dimension. We use these relations to calculate the correlation functions and the renormalization group properties of various operators for a system of spinless fermions. We then apply the methods of bosonization to study the Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin 1/2 chain, the Hubbard model in one dimension and transport in clean quantum wires and in the presence of isolated impurities.
We discuss the technique of bosonization for studying systems of interacting fermions in one dimension. After briefly reviewing the low-energy properties of Fermi and Luttinger liquids, we present some of the relations between bosonic and fermionic operators in one dimension. We use these relations to calculate the correlation functions and the renormalization group properties of various operators for a system of spinless fermions. We then apply the methods of bosonization to study the Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin 1/2 chain, the Hubbard model in one dimension, and transport in clean quantum wires and in the presence of isolated impurities.
Since the advent of high-Tc cuprate superconductors in 1986, strongly correlated electron systems have attracted much attention. Since the cuprates are essentially two-dimensional, low-dimensional systems have moved into the focus of condensed-matter theory. From a theoretical point of view, one-dimensional systems are of particular interest because there are exact numerical and analytical methods which permit detailed studies and deep insights into the many-body problem. In the first part of this thesis, using the numerically exact methods Exact Diagonalization and the Density-Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG), we investigate the properties of the Tomonaga–Luttinger liquid which is the generic metallic state of matter in one dimension. In particular, we concentrate on the investigation of the so-called Tomonaga–Luttinger liquid parameter which determines the critical exponent α for the density of states near the Fermi energy. Experimental results for some quasi one-dimensional materials report α≳1, which would imply Kρ≲0.17, a value which cannot be reconciled with the bare Hubbard model where KρH≥0.5, i.e., αH≲1/8. We develop new accurate numerical methods to obtain Kρ and investigate how to obtain such small values for Kρ for slightly doped charge-density-wave insulators. In the second part of this thesis, using the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA) as exact analytical method, we investigate the one-dimensional Hubbard model in the spindisordered regime, which is characterized by the temperature being much larger than the magnetic energy scale but small compared to the Mott–Hubbard gap. Our study is motivated by the controversy about the Mott–Hubbard insulator in infinite dimensions whose ground state is also spin-disordered. In this system the determination of the precise value of the critical interaction strength Uc where the Mott–Hubbard gap closes is still unsolved. Therefore, we provide an example of a Hubbard-type model with a disordered spin background which can be solved exactly. The thermodynamics of our model can be understood in terms of gapped charged excitations with an effective dispersion which are decoupled form the spin degrees of freedom; the latter contribute only entropically. An interpretation of this regime in terms of a putative interacting-electron system at zero temperature leads to a metal-insulator transition at a finite interaction strength above which the gap opens linearly. Our exact results indicate that the strong-coupling expansion of the ground-state energy cannot be used to locate Uc. However, the strong-coupling expansion of the gap permits a reliable extrapolation of the critical interaction strength.
The properties of fermions in one dimension are markedly different from those in higher dimensions. In two or three dimensions, the many-body behaviour of fermions is described by the Fermi liquid model, whose most prominent result is that, instead of studying the behaviour of individual particles, it is better to describe the emergent phenomena of the whole system, known as quasiparticles. These are collective modes of excitations born out of particle-particle interactions, which resemble the constituent single particles, albeit with renormalised mass. In one dimension, however, the formation of such a correlated state is unfavourable and the quasiparticles are completely absent. Instead, 1D fermions are described by a model known as the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. Central to this model is the process of bosonisation, a mathematical technique which maps the excitation of fermions to bosonic modes of spin-density and charge-density waves. As a prerequisite of the bosonisation technique, the fermionic single-particle dispersion is approximated as a linear function. Consequently, the Luttinger liquid model is limited in its scope of applicability. Specifically, it is valid only in the vicinity of the Fermi points, where the excitation energy is low. Recent advancement in the theoretical field has expanded our understanding of 1D interacting fermions beyond the limit of linearity. The mobile-impurity model, proposed by L. Glazman and his co-authors, is a generalised model of 1D fermions which extends the scope of applicability of the Tomanaga-Luttinger model, accounting for the curvature of single-particle dispersion relations. It extends the region of validity of the tradition TLL theory from the neighbourhood of the Fermi points to a band which follows the single-particle dispersion. This thesis presents the results of an experimental work which provides direct evidence of non-linear behaviour predicted by the new model. It revolves around the measurement of the spectral function of electrons in surface-gate-defined quantum wires on a double-quantum-well, GaAs/AlGaAs device, and the comparison and fitting of the result to the non-linear theory. The spectral function is a theoretical concept frequently used in discussions on many-body problems. Its physical interpretation makes it closely related to experimental observables, such as the tunnelling current between the double quantum wells in this work. This thesis consists of three parts. Part one concerns the theories of the various many-body models and the experimental technique: Chapter 1 briefly introduces the concept of Fermi liquid, before focusing on a detailed account of the Luttinger-liquid model. The mobile-impurity model will be introduced in the framework of the Luttinger liquid model afterwards, followed by a review of experimental works reported in the literature on the study of TLL physics. In Chapter 2, the principles of the experimental tunnelling spectroscopy technique are described. The second part of the thesis details the structure of the test device used in the experiment and its fabrication. In particular, we will discuss the intricacies of the three-dimensional EBL fabrication process developed specifically for this project. The setup and running of the measurement circuit will also be discussed in this part of the thesis, in the context of a prerequisite sample characterisation measurement. In the final part of the work, data from the main experiment will be presented and analysed, in search for the electron-electron interaction effects which are predicted by the theoretical discussions in the first chapter.
Strongly correlated systems show a variety of intriguing properties and have been extensively studied over the years. In this thesis two strongly correlated systems are discussed: the two-dimensional antiferromagnet and the Luttinger liquid. The Luttinger liquid has attracted much interest as a paradigm of non-Fermi liquid behavior. In the first part of the thesis, basic properties of Fermi liquids are briefly described while those of Luttinger liquids are considered in more detail. The differences in spectral properties of Luttinger liquids and Fermi liquids are discussed, as are the consequences for photoemission experiments. In this context Luttinger liquids with boundaries, treated in Papers I, II, and III, are introduced. The exact single-electron Green's function at finite temperature is calculated with bosonization methods, for both periodic and finite open-boundary systems. The corresponding local spectral density is analyzed. For a system with open boundaries, the well-known zero temperature bulk behavior always crosses over to a boundary dominated regime for small energies, while at finite temperature the low energy behavior becomes quadratic. For a periodic finite-size system we also calculate the Coulomb-blockade-like oscillations and study their dependence on interaction and temperature. The two-dimensional antiferromagnet has attracted much attention due to its connection to the undoped phase of the ceramic high-temperature superconductors. In the second part of the thesis including Papers IV and V, the two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet defined on the triangular and the honeycomb lattices is studied. We use the Schwinger-boson mean-field theory to investigate the stability of the ground state with respect to frustration. For the honeycomb lattice model we find an increased Néel stability as compared to the classical case. The dynamic structure factor is considered for various temperatures and the spin-wave velocity and the susceptibility are presented as functions of frustration for spin S=1/2. In the case of the intrinsically frustrated triangular lattice model we obtain, in the limit of infinite spin, results in complete agreement with the linear spin-wave theory. In contrast to the latter, however, two of the three modes acquire a mass for finite spin. The origin of this effect is discussed.