One-dimensional transient crystals

Abstract

A phase of solid state matter which exists in time dimension is investigated theoretically for a linear chain of quantum dots or atomic sites using the evolution operator technique and the Laplace transform technique.. The studies focus on the spectral density of states (DOS) function and its modifications after a sudden quench in the system. It is shown that this function reveals a very regular structure which oscillates in time and which corresponds to the stationary DOS of one-dimensional crystals. Thus, such a system stands for a transient crystal material which exists in time dimension but appears only for a short period and suddenly vanishes. Moreover, we observe different impulse propagation velocities due to the local DOS inertia, i.e., it is more difficult to rebuild a many-peaked structure of DOS related to longer chains. We also show that the transient crystal pattern in a linear chain can be observed for real electrodes characterized by the van Hove singularities or by a flat spectral density.