Wigner crystal in snaked nanochannels
arXiv:1102.1277 · doi:10.1140/epjb/e2011-20202-3
Abstract
We study properties of Wigner crystal in snaked nanochannels and show that they are characterized by conducting sliding phase at low charge densities and insulating pinned phase emerging above a certain critical charge density. The transition between these phases has a devil's staircase structure typical for the Aubry transition in dynamical maps and the Frenkel-Kontorova model. We discuss implications of this phenomenon for charge density waves in quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors and for supercapacitors in nanopore materials.
4 pages, 6 figs, research at http://www.quantware.ups-tlse.fr