Fermi-edge singularity in a spin-incoherent Luttinger liquid.

We theoretically investigate the Fermi-edge singularity in a spin-incoherent Luttinger liquid. Both cases of finite and infinite core hole mass are explored, as well as the effect of a static external magnetic field of arbitrary strength. For a finite mass core hole the absorption edge behaves as (omega-omega th)alpha/square root of absolute value (ln(omega-omega th)) for frequencies omega just above the threshold frequency omega th. The exponent alpha depends on the interaction parameter g of the interacting one dimensional system, the electron-hole coupling, and is independent of the magnetic field strength, the momentum, and the mass of the excited core hole (in contrast to the spin-coherent case). In the infinite mass limit, the spin-incoherent problem can be mapped onto an equivalent problem in a spinless Luttinger liquid for which the logarithmic factor is absent, and backscattering from the core hole leads to a universal contribution to the exponent alpha.