Letter abstract
Nature Physics 2, 336 - 340 (2006)
doi:10.1038/nphys293
Subject Categories: Condensed-matter physics | Materials physics
Correlation-induced inhomogeneity in circular quantum dots
Amit Ghosal1, A. D. Güçlü2, C. J. Umrigar2, Denis Ullmo1,3 and Harold U. Baranger1
Properties of the 'electron gas'—in which conduction electrons interact by means of Coulomb forces but ionic potentials are neglected—change dramatically depending on the balance between kinetic energy and Coulomb repulsion. The limits are well understood1. For very weak interactions (high density), the system behaves as a Fermi liquid, with delocalized electrons. In contrast, in the strongly interacting limit (low density), the electrons localize and order into a Wigner crystal phase. The physics at intermediate densities, however, remains a subject of fundamental research2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Here, we study the intermediate-density electron gas confined to a circular disc, where the degree of confinement can be tuned to control the density. Using accurate quantum Monte Carlo techniques9, we show that the electron–electron correlation induced by an increase of the interaction first smoothly causes rings, and then angular modulation, without any signature of a sharp transition in this density range. This suggests that inhomogeneities in a confined system, which exist even without interactions, are significantly enhanced by correlations.
- Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0305, USA
- Theory Center and Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
- CNRS; Univ. Paris-Sud, LPTMS UMR 8626, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
Correspondence to: Amit Ghosal1 Present address: Physics Department, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547, USA
Correspondence to: Amit Ghosal1 e-mail: ghosal@phy.duke.edu
Correspondence to: Harold U. Baranger1 e-mail: baranger@phy.duke.edu
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