Coupled phonon-ripplon modes in a single wire of electrons on the liquid-helium surface

The coupled phonon-ripplon modes of the quasi-one-dimensional electron chain on the liquid helium surface are studied. It is shown that the electron-ripplon coupling leads to the splitting of the collective modes of the wire with the appearance of low-frequency modes and high-frequency optical modes starting from threshold frequencies. The effective masses of an electron plus the associated dimple for low-frequency modes are estimated and the values of the threshold frequencies are calculated. The results obtained can be used in experimental attempts to observe the phase transition of the electron wire into a quasiordered phase. [S0163-1829(99)02144-X].