Surface Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid state on Bi/InSb(001)

TL;DR

This study demonstrates a one-dimensional Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid state on a Bi-covered InSb(001) surface, characterized by power-law spectral behavior and metallic dispersion, indicating strongly correlated electron behavior in a 1D surface state.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of a 1D Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid state on a Bi/InSb(001) surface using ARPES measurements.

Findings

Observation of a 1D Fermi contour with minimal 2D distortion.

Power-law scaling in photoelectron spectra near the Fermi level.

Continuous metallic dispersion across the Fermi level with suppressed intensity.

Abstract

A 1D metallic surface state was created on an anisotropic InSb(001) surface covered with Bi. Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) showed a 1D Fermi contour with almost no 2D distortion. Close to the Fermi level ($E_{\rm F}$), the angle-integrated photoelectron spectra showed power-law scaling with the binding energy and temperature. The ARPES plot above $E_{\rm F}$ obtained thanks to thermally broadened Fermi edge at room temperature showed a 1D state with continuous metallic dispersion across $E_{\rm F}$ and power-law intensity suppression around $E_{\rm F}$. These results strongly suggest a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid on the Bi/InSb(001) surface.