Paper detail

Local density of states of a quarter-filled one-dimensional Mott insulator with a boundary

We study the low-energy limit of a quarter-filled one-dimensional Mott insulator. We analytically determine the local density of states in the presence of a strong impurity potential, which is modeled by a boundary. To this end we calculate the Green function using field theoretical methods. The Fourier transform of the local density of states shows signatures of a pinning of the spin-density wave at the impurity as well as several dispersing features at frequencies above the charge gap. These features can be interpreted as propagating spin and charge degrees of freedom. Their relative strength can be attributed to the "quasi-fermionic" behavior of charge excitations with equal momenta. Furthermore, we discuss the effect of bound states localized at the impurity. Finally, we give an overview of the local density of states in various one-dimensional systems and discuss implications for scanning tunneling microscopy experiments.