Thermal effects on the Wigner localization and Friedel oscillations in many-electron nanowires

Thermal effects on the total charge density are studied for a one-dimensional correlated quantum dot by means of the path integral Monte Carlo method. The competition between Friedel and Wigner oscillations at zero temperature is driven by the ratio between the interaction of electronic strength and the kinetic energy of electrons. At the onset of the formation of a Wigner molecule, we show that thermal enhancement of Wigner oscillations occurs in a range of temperatures, which can be observed in the electron density. We further show that low-temperature Friedel oscillations may change to Wigner oscillations upon an increase in the temperature.