Dynamical response of a one-dimensional quantum-wire electron system

We provide a self-contained theoretical analysis of the dynamical response of a one-dimensional electron system, as confined in a semiconductor quantum wire, within the random-phase approximation. We carry out a detailed comparison with the corresponding two- and three-dimensional situations, and discuss the peculiarities arising in the one-dimensional linear response from the nonexistence of low energy single-particle excitations and from the linear nature of the long wavelength plasmon mode. We provide a critical discussion of the analytic properties of the complex dielectric function in the complex frequency plane. We investigate the zeros of the complex dielectric function, and calculate the plasmon dispersion, damping, and plasmon spectral weight in one dimension. We consider finite temperature and impurity scattering effects on one-dimensional plasmon dispersion and damping. © 1996 The American Physical Society.