Relaxation processes in a disordered Luttinger liquid

Journal Article · Fri Aug 15 04:00:00 EDT 2008 · Semiconductors

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063782608080204· OSTI ID:21255624

Bagrets, D A; Gornyi, I V; Mirlin, A D

The Luttinger liquid model, which describes interacting electrons in a single-channel quantum wire, is completely integrable in the absence of disorder and as such does not exhibit any relaxation to equilibrium. We consider relaxation processes induced by inelastic electron-electron interactions in a disordered Luttinger liquid, focusing on the equilibration rate and its essential differences from the electron-electron scattering rate as well as the rate of phase relaxation. In the first part of the paper, we review the basic concepts in a disordered Luttinger liquid at equilibrium. These include the elastic renormalization, dephasing, and interference-induced localization. In the second part, we formulate a conceptually important framework for systematically studying the nonequilibrium properties of a strongly correlated (non-Fermi) Luttinger liquid. We derive a coupled set of kinetic equations for the fermionic and bosonic distribution functions that describe the evolution of a nonequilibrium Luttinger liquid. Remarkably, the energy equilibration rate in the conducting disordered quantum wire (at sufficiently high temperature, when the localization effects are suppressed by dephasing) is shown to be on the order of the rate of elastic scattering off disorder, independent of the interaction constant and temperature.

• OSTI ID: 21255624
• Journal Information: Semiconductors, Journal Name: Semiconductors Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 42; ISSN SMICES; ISSN 1063-7826
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
ELASTIC SCATTERING
ELECTRON-ELECTRON COLLISIONS
ELECTRON-ELECTRON COUPLING
ELECTRON-ELECTRON INTERACTIONS
ELECTRONS
EQUILIBRIUM
KINETIC EQUATIONS
LIQUIDS
QUANTUM WIRES
RELAXATION
RENORMALIZATION