Impurity-induced stabilization of Luttinger liquid in quasi-one-dimensional conductors

TL;DR

This paper theoretically demonstrates that impurities can stabilize the Luttinger liquid phase in quasi-one-dimensional conductors by creating bounded segments, aligning with recent experimental observations in specific wire materials.

Contribution

It introduces a model where impurities lead to bounded Luttinger liquids, extending understanding of Luttinger liquid stability in real materials.

Findings

Impurities create bounded Luttinger liquids with discrete excitation spectra.

Interchain hopping is negligible below the minimum excitation energy.

Experimental Luttinger-liquid-like behavior observed in NbSe3 and TaS3 wires.

Abstract

It is shown theoretically that the Luttinger liquid phase in quasi-one-dimensional conductors can exist in the presence of impurities in a form of a collection of bounded Luttinger liquids. The conclusion is based upon the observation by Kane and Fisher that a local impurity potential in Luttinger liquid acts, at low energies, as an infinite barrier. This leads to a discrete spectrum of collective charge and spin density fluctuations, so that interchain hopping can be considered as a small parameter at temperatures below the minimum excitation energy of the collective modes. The results are compared with recent experimental observation of a Luttinger-liquid-like behavior in thin NbSe$_3$ and TaS$_3$ wires.