Mean-field model for the junction of two quasi-1-dimensional quantum Coulomb systems

Abstract

Junctions appear naturally when one studies surface states or transport properties of quasi one dimensional materials such as carbon nanotubes, polymers and quantum wires. These materials can be seen as 1D systems embedded in the 3D space. In this article, we first establish a mean--field description of reduced Hartree--Fock type for a 1D periodic system in the 3D space (a quasi 1D system), the unit cell of which is unbounded. With mild summability condition, we next show that a quasi 1D system in its ground state can be described by a mean--field Hamiltonian. We also prove that the Fermi level of this system is always negative. A junction system is described by two different infinitely extended quasi 1D systems occupying separately half spaces in 3D, where Coulombic electron-electron interactions are taken into account and without any assumption on the commensurability of the periods. We prove the existence of the ground state for a junction system, the ground state is a spectral projector of a mean--field Hamiltonian, and the ground state density is unique.