Signatures of spin-charge separation in scanning probe microscopy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how scanning probe microscopy can reveal spin-charge separation in a one-dimensional electron system by analyzing conductance patterns influenced by an auxiliary scatterer.

Contribution

It introduces a method to detect spin-charge separation through conductance measurements affected by a scanning tip in quantum wires.

Findings

Differential conductance patterns indicate spin-charge separation.

The conductance depends on bias and scatterer position, revealing excitation modes.

The approach provides a new way to probe elementary excitations in 1D systems.

Abstract

We analyze the effect of an auxiliary scatterer, such as the potential of a scanning tip, on the conductance of an interacting one-dimensional electron system. We find that the differential conductance for tunneling into the end of a semi-infinite quantum wire reflects the separation of the elementary excitations into spin and charge modes. The separation is revealed as a specific pattern in the dependence of the conductance on bias and on the position of the scatterer.