Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - See-1D-Qmatter (Unravelling Fragile 1D Quantum States of Matter Through Ultra-sensitive Imaging)

Teaser

In this ERC grant we developed a novel scanning probe platform capable of imaging key states of matter that have evaded discovery for many years due to their fragility. Our platform utilizes a pristine carbon nanotube as a scanning charge probe for imaging, with minimal...

Summary

In this ERC grant we developed a novel scanning probe platform capable of imaging key states of matter that have evaded discovery for many years due to their fragility. Our platform utilizes a pristine carbon nanotube as a scanning charge probe for imaging, with minimal invasiveness, the many-body electronic density within another nanotube. Using this new tool we were able to obtain the first direct images of the quantum crystal of electrons, predicted by Eugene Wigner 80 years ago. In the opposite regime of extreme probe invasiveness, where the electrons in the two nanotubes interact so strongly that they get fully entangled, we discovered another long-sought fundamental physics phenomena - excitonic pairing. We have observed that electrons can attract each other solely via Coulombic repulsion, and idea propose by William Little 50 years ago as a way to create better superconductor, but so far evaded discovery. Our next experiments aim to use this new scanning tool and high level of control to study similarly interesting states of matter that are described in our proposal. Our experiments open a new window to observe and understand some of the fundamental ideas and concepts in condensed matter physics.

Work performed

1. Development of an ultra-low (milli-Kelvin) custom scanning probe microsocpe
2. Development of very long pristine quantum devices from carbon nanotubes
3. Development of novel scanning probe technique and modalities based on a scanning nanotube probe
4. Development of time domain (high frequency) pump probe techniques for fast measurements.
5. First observation of electronic attraction by Coulomb repulsion (published in Nature)
6. First observation of the quantum Wigner crystal of electrons (in review)

Final results

In each one of the the items above we have pushed the frontiers significantly beyond the state-of-the-art

In the next period of the grant we plan to use the technology that we built to preform the additional experiments that we outlined in the proposal (e.g. imaging Kondo cloud, fractional charge, and orthogonality catastrophe) as well as new ideas that emerged from our current research, such as precision measurement of Coulomb law in 1D, and using nanotubes to image electrons in higher dimensions