Nonlinear Transport of the Wigner Crystal on Superfluid 4He in a Quasi-One-Dimensional Channel

Abstract

We study transport properties of a Wigner crystal driven by an external force on the surface of superfluid 4 He , in the "quantum wire" regime, i.e. in the quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) case when a typical width of the channel is comparable to the inter-electron separation. Utilizing molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the electronic transport through the channels with different constrictions: (i) geometrical constrictions with varying shape and size, and (ii) a saddle-point potential with varying gate voltage. The average particle velocity has been calculated as a function of the driving force or gate voltage. We have revealed a significant difference in the dynamical behavior for long and short constrictions. In particular, we found that the oscillations of the average particle velocity in channels with short constrictions exhibit a clear correlation with the transitions between the states with different numbers of rows of particles in the constriction, while for channels with longer constrictions these oscillations are suppressed. The obtained results are in agreement with the recent experimental observations,1 and thus bring new important insights into the dynamics of electrons floating on the surface of superfluid 4 He in channels with constrictions. [Formula: see text] Special Issue Comments: This article presents results on the dynamics of electrons moving on the surface of liquid helium in narrow channels with constrictions, with a focus on the "quantum wire", i.e. single file, regime. This article is connected to the Special Issue articles about advanced statistical properties in single file dynamics39 and the experiments on liquid helium.40