Scanning-tunneling microscope imaging of single-electron solitons in a material with incommensurate charge-density waves

Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Mar 2;108(9):096801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.096801. Epub 2012 Feb 27.

Abstract

We report on scanning-tunneling microscopy experiments in a charge-density wave (CDW) system allowing visually capturing and studying in detail the individual solitons corresponding to the self-trapping of just one electron. This "Amplitude Soliton" is marked by vanishing of the CDW amplitude and by the π shift of its phase. It might be the realization of the spinon--the long-sought particle (along with the holon) in the study of science of strongly correlated electronic systems. As a distinct feature we also observe one-dimensional Friedel oscillations superimposed on the CDW which develop independently of solitons.