Optical singularities of the one-dimensional electron gas in semiconductor quantum wires

The optical properties of a one-dimensional (1D) electron gas with only one or two occupied subbands have been studied in semiconductor quantum wires, obtained by electron beam lithography and subsequent low-energy ion bombardment of modulation-doped GaAs quantum wells. Large optical singularities have been observed at the Fermi level, both in optical absorption and emission. They disappear at temperatures comparable to the Fermi energy. The 1D singularities are much larger and sharper than in 2D systems due to the lack of certain hole recoil effects in 1D. The experimental data are in qualitative agreement with theoretical results based on the exact diagonalization of finite chains.