COULOMB BLOCKADE OF TUNNELING INTO A QUASI-ONE-DIMENSIONAL WIRE

Tunneling into the correlated electron system in a quantum wire is considered. For the first time, the problem is solved for an arbitrary number of transverse electron modes in the wire. The tunnel density of states has power-law asymptotics at low energies, nu(epsilon) is-proportional-to epsilon(alpha). A simple formula expressing alpha in terms of velocities of soundlike excitations (plasmons) propagating along the wire is obtained and the eigenvalue equation for these velocities is found. The general result for alpha allows one to extrapolate correctly between the known cases of a one-mode wire and a wide three-dimensional wire.