Quantum electron liquid and its possible phase transition

Abstract

Purely quantum electron systems exhibit intriguing correlated electronic phases by virtue of quantum fluctuations in addition to electron-electron interactions. To realize such quantum electron systems, a key ingredient is dense electrons decoupled from other degrees of freedom. Here, we report the discovery of a pure quantum electron liquid, which spreads up to ~ 3 Å in the vacuum on the surface of electride crystal. An extremely high electron density and its weak hybridisation with buried atomic orbitals evidence the quantum and pure nature of electrons, that exhibit a polarized liquid phase as demonstrated by our spin-dependent measurement. Further, upon enhancing the electron correlation strength, the dynamics of quantum electrons changes to that of non-Fermi liquid along with an anomalous band deformation, suggestive of a transition to a hexatic liquid crystal phase. Our findings cultivate the frontier of quantum electron systems, and serve as a platform for exploring correlated electronic phases in a pure fashion.

arXiv comment29 pages, 4 figures, 10 extended data figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Topological Fermi-arc surface state covered by floating electrons on a two-dimensional electride
• Collective Dynamics and Defect Generation for Wigner Crystal Ratchets
• Noise and Thermal Depinning of Wigner Crystals
• Melting, Reentrant Ordering and Peak Effect for Wigner Crystals with Quenched and Thermal Disorder
• Inverse melting and re-entrant transformations of the vortex lattice in amorphous Re6Zr thin film
• Revealing magnetism in the distorted kagome $R$Ti${}_3$Bi${}_4$ ($R$ = Nd, Sm, Gd) via ARPES and XMCD