Transport in quantum wires

In this chapter we review some of the recent experimental studies performed on isolated one-dimensional electron systems. Such systems offer a direct way to test the theoretical predictions of Luttinger liquid theory. We describe here several experimental configurations that enable to probe the conductance of clean and disordered wires, the tunneling density of states and the dispersion of elementary excitations in the wires. The effects of Coulomb interaction on each of these quantities will be discussed in the context of Luttinger liquid theory. We hope this chapter will convey the richness of possibilities that exists in the physics of interacting electrons in one dimension and in its experimental exploration.

Keywords: Cleaved Edge Overgrowth, Tunneling density of states, Spin-Charge separation, GaAs.