New Routes to Solitons in Quasi One-Dimensional Conductors

TL;DR

This paper explores the existence and roles of microscopic solitons in quasi-one-dimensional conductors, revealing their impact on electronic, optical, and tunneling phenomena, and suggesting new experimental directions.

Contribution

It identifies various types of solitons in quasi-1D conductors and proposes new experimental approaches to observe and utilize these solitons in different materials.

Findings

Existence of multiple soliton types in conductors and insulators.

Observation of 2Pi solitons and their visual capture in STM experiments.

Potential for soliton-induced lattice reconstructions in junctions.

Abstract

We collect evidences on existence of microscopic solitons, and their determining role in electronic processes of quasi-1D conductors. The ferroelectric charge ordering gives access to several types of solitons in conductivity and permittivity, and to solitons' bound pairs in optics - both in insulating and conducting cases of TMTTF and TMTSF subfamilies. The excursion to physics of conjugated polymers allows to suggest further experiments. Internal tunnelling in Charge Density Waves goes through the channel of "amplitude solitons", which correspond to the long sought quasi-particle - the spinon. The same experiment gives an access to the reversible reconstruction of the junction via spontaneous creation of a lattice of 2Pi solitons - a grid of dislocations. The individual 2Pi solitons have been visually captured in recent STM experiments. Junctions of organic and oxide conductors are anticipated to show similar effects of reconstruction.