Symmetry-Breaking Phase Transition without Peierls Mechanism in Conducting Monoatomic Chains
arXiv:1109.5832 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.165702
Abstract
The one-dimensional (1D) model system Au/Ge(001), consisting of linear chains of single atoms on a surface, is scrutinized for lattice instabilities predicted in the Peierls paradigm. By scanning tunneling microscopy and electron diffraction we reveal a second-order phase transition at 585 K. It leads to charge ordering with transversal and vertical displacements and complex interchain correlations. However, the structural phase transition is not accompanied by the electronic signatures of a charge density wave, thus precluding a Peierls instability as origin. Instead, this symmetry-breaking transition exhibits three-dimensional critical behavior. This reflects a dichotomy between the decoupled 1D electron system and the structural elements that interact via the substrate. Such substrate-mediated coupling between the wires thus appears to have been underestimated also in related chain systems.
arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures, accepted at Physical Review Letters 09/2011
References in corpus (5)
- One-Dimensional Fermi liquids
- Fermi surface nesting and the origin of Charge Density Waves in metals
- New Model System for a One-Dimensional Electron Liquid: Self-Organized Atomic Gold Chains on Ge(001)
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Cited by in corpus (5)
- Phonon dispersion and the competition between pairing and charge order
- Atomic scale variation of electron tunneling into a Luttinger liquid ? : High resolution scanning tunneling spectroscopy study on Au/Ge(001)
- Modeling 1D structures on semiconductor surfaces: Synergy of theory and experiment
- Gold-induced nanowires on the Ge(100) surface yield a 2D, and not a 1D electronic structure
- Structural Examination of Au/Ge(001) by Surface X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy