Collective excitations in low-density 2D electron systems

We report the observation of sharp plasmon and magnetoplasmon modes in ultra-low-density 2D electron systems. Well defined dispersions for the modes are observed at densities as low as View the MathML source and with excitation wave vectors as large as View the MathML source. Interestingly, both modes are found to be more easily measured in low-density systems than in high-density systems. The strength of the light scattering cross-sections at low density suggests potential applications to the study of quantum phase transitions at large rs.