UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Imaging the Zigzag Wigner Crystal in Confinement-Tunable Quantum Wires

Ho, S-C; Chang, H-J; Chang, C-H; Lo, S-T; Creeth, G; Kumar, S; Farrer, I; ... Chen, T-M; + view all (2018) Imaging the Zigzag Wigner Crystal in Confinement-Tunable Quantum Wires. Physical Review Letters , 121 (10) 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.106801. Green open access

[thumbnail of PhysRevLett.121.106801.pdf]
Preview
Text
PhysRevLett.121.106801.pdf - Published Version

Download (467kB) | Preview

Abstract

The existence of Wigner crystallization, one of the most significant hallmarks of strong electron correlations, has to date only been definitively observed in two-dimensional systems. In one-dimensional (1D) quantum wires Wigner crystals correspond to regularly spaced electrons; however, weakening the confinement and allowing the electrons to relax in a second dimension is predicted to lead to the formation of a new ground state constituting a zigzag chain with nontrivial spin phases and properties. Here we report the observation of such zigzag Wigner crystals by use of on-chip charge and spin detectors employing electron focusing to image the charge density distribution and probe their spin properties. This experiment demonstrates both the structural and spin phase diagrams of the 1D Wigner crystallization. The existence of zigzag spin chains and phases which can be electrically controlled in semiconductor systems may open avenues for experimental studies of Wigner crystals and their technological applications in spintronics and quantum information.

Type: Article
Title: Imaging the Zigzag Wigner Crystal in Confinement-Tunable Quantum Wires
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.106801
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.106801
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Physics, Multidisciplinary, Physics, LUTTINGER-LIQUID, COULOMB DRAG, CONDUCTANCE, SEPARATION, DYNAMICS, SYSTEMS, FIELD, SPINS, DOTS
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Electronic and Electrical Eng
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10056668
Downloads since deposit
224Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item