Two-Dimensional Coulomb Liquids and Solids [Paperback]

This coherent monograph describes and explains quantum phenomena in two-dimensional (2D) electron systems with extremely strong internal interactions, which cannot be described by the conventional Fermi-liquid approach. The central physical objects considered are the 2D Coulomb liquid, of which the average Coulomb interaction energy per electron is much higher than the mean kinetic energy, and the Wigner solid. The text provides a new and comprehensive review of the remarkable properties of Coulomb liquids and solids formed on the free surface of liquid helium and other interfaces. This book is intended for graduate students and researchers in the fields of quantum liquids, electronic properties of 2D systems, and solid-state physics. It includes different levels of sophistication so as to be useful for both theorists and experimentalists. The presentation is largely self-contained, and also describes some instructive examples that will be of general interest to solid-state physicists.

This book is about quantum phenomena in two-dimensional (2D) electron systems with extremely strong internal interactions. The central objects of interest are Coulomb liquids, in which the average Coulomb interaction en? ergy per electron is much higher than the mean kinetic energy, and Wigner solids. The main themes are quantum transport in two dimensions and the dynamics of highly correlated electrons in the regime of strong coupling with medium excitations. In typical solids, the mutual interaction energy of charge carriers is of the same order of magnitude as their kinetic energy, and the Fermi-liquid ap? proach appears to be quite satisfactory. However, in 1970, a broad research began to investigate a remarkable model 2D electron system formed on the free surface of superfluid helium. In this system, complementary to the 2D electronic systems formed in semiconductor interface structures, the ratio of the mean Coulomb energy of electrons to their kineticlów