What lurks below the last plateau: experimental studies of the 0.7 × 2e(2)/h conductance anomaly in one-dimensional systems.
14 Oct 2011-Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (IOP Publishing)-Vol. 23, Iss: 44, pp 443201-443201
TL;DR: In this article, a review report on experimental studies of fractionally quantized plateaus in semiconductor quantum point contacts and quantum wires, focusing on the 0.7 × 2e(2)/h conductance anomaly, its analogues at higher conductances and the zero-bias peak observed in the dc source-drain bias for conductances less than 2e (2) 2 /h.
Abstract: The integer quantised conductance of one-dimensional electron systems is a well-understood effect of quantum confinement. A number of fractionally quantised plateaus are also commonly observed. They are attributed to many-body effects, but their precise origin is still a matter of debate, having attracted considerable interest over the past 15 years. This review reports on experimental studies of fractionally quantised plateaus in semiconductor quantum point contacts and quantum wires, focusing on the 0.7 × 2e(2)/h conductance anomaly, its analogues at higher conductances and the zero-bias peak observed in the dc source-drain bias for conductances less than 2e(2)/h.
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01 Mar 1998
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the Landauer formulation of transport theory to predict that dielectric quantum wires should exhibit quantized thermal conductance at low temperatures in a ballistic phonon regime.
Abstract: Using the Landauer formulation of transport theory, we predict that dielectric quantum wires should exhibit quantized thermal conductance at low temperatures in a ballistic phonon regime. The quantum of thermal conductance is universal, independent of the characteristics of the material, and equal to ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{2}{k}_{B}^{2}T/3h$ where ${k}_{B}$ is the Boltzmann constant, $h$ is Planck's constant, and $T$ is the temperature. Quantized thermal conductance should be experimentally observable in suspended nanostructures adiabatically coupled to reservoirs, devices that can be realized at the present time.
463 citations
TL;DR: A detailed discussion of the behavior of mesoscopic devices (and other OQSs) in terms of the projection-operator formalism, and discusses experiments on mesoscopic quantum point contacts that provide evidence of the environmentally-mediated coupling of quantum states.
Abstract: This report on progress explores recent advances in our theoretical and experimental understanding of the physics of open quantum systems (OQSs). The study of such systems represents a core problem in modern physics that has evolved to assume an unprecedented interdisciplinary character. OQSs consist of some localized, microscopic, region that is coupled to an external environment by means of an appropriate interaction. Examples of such systems may be found in numerous areas of physics, including atomic and nuclear physics, photonics, biophysics, and mesoscopic physics. It is the latter area that provides the main focus of this review, an emphasis that is driven by the capacity that exists to subject mesoscopic devices to unprecedented control. We thus provide a detailed discussion of the behavior of mesoscopic devices (and other OQSs) in terms of the projection-operator formalism, according to which the system under study is considered to be comprised of a localized region (Q), embedded into a well-defined environment (P) of scattering wavefunctions (with Q + P = 1). The Q subspace must be treated using the concepts of non-Hermitian physics, and of particular interest here is: the capacity of the environment to mediate a coupling between the different states of Q; the role played by the presence of exceptional points (EPs) in the spectra of OQSs; the influence of EPs on the rigidity of the wavefunction phases, and; the ability of EPs to initiate a dynamical phase transition (DPT). EPs are singular points in the continuum, at which two resonance states coalesce, that is where they exhibit a non-avoided crossing. DPTs occur when the quantum dynamics of the open system causes transitions between non-analytically connected states, as a function of some external control parameter. Much like conventional phase transitions, the behavior of the system on one side of the DPT does not serve as a reliable indicator of that on the other. In addition to discussing experiments on mesoscopic quantum point contacts that provide evidence of the environmentally-mediated coupling of quantum states, we also review manifestations of DPTs in mesoscopic devices and other systems. These experiments include observations of resonance-trapping behavior in microwave cavities and open quantum dots, phase lapses in tunneling through single-electron transistors, and spin swapping in atomic ensembles. Other possible manifestations of this phenomenon are presented, including various superradiant phenomena in low-dimensional semiconductors. From these discussions a generic picture of OQSs emerges in which the environmentally-mediated coupling between different quantum states plays a critical role in governing the system behavior. The ability to control or manipulate this interaction may even lead to new applications in photonics and electronics.
158 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a detailed discussion of the behavior of OQSs in terms of the projection operator formalism, according to which the system under study is considered to be comprised of a localized region, embedded into a well-defined environment of scattering wavefunctions (with $Q+P=1$).
Abstract: This Report explores recent advances in our understanding of the physics of open quantum systems (OQSs) which consist of some localized region that is coupled to an external environment. Examples of such systems may be found in numerous areas of physics including mesoscopic physics that provides the main focus of this review. We provide a detailed discussion of the behavior of OQSs in terms of the projection-operator formalism, according to which the system under study is considered to be comprised of a localized region ($Q$), embedded into a well-defined environment ($P$) of scattering wavefunctions (with $Q+P=1$). The $Q$ subspace must be treated using the concepts of non-Hermitian physics, and of particular interest here is: the capacity of the environment to mediate a coupling between the different states of $Q$; the role played by the presence of exceptional points (EPs) in the spectra of OQSs; the influence of EPs on the rigidity of the wavefunction phases, and; the ability of EPs to initiate a dynamical phase transition (DPT). DPTs occur when the quantum dynamics of the open system causes transitions between non-analytically connected states, as a function of some external control parameter. In addition to discussing experiments on mesoscopic quantum point contacts, we also review manifestations of DPTs in mesoscopic devices and other systems. Other possible manifestations of this phenomenon are presented. From these discussions a generic picture of OQSs emerges in which the environmentally-mediated coupling between different quantum states plays a critical role in governing the system behavior.
156 citations
01 Mar 2002
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present conductance measurements on ultra-low-disorder quantum wires supportive of a spin polarization at B = 0.5-0.7)x2e(2)/h in conductance data.
Abstract: There is controversy as to whether a one-dimensional (1D) electron gas can spin polarize in the absence of a magnetic field. Together with a simple model, we present conductance measurements on ultra-low-disorder quantum wires supportive of a spin polarization at B=0. A spin energy gap is indicated by the presence of a feature in the range (0.5-0.7)x2e(2)/h in conductance data. Importantly, it appears that the spin gap is not constant but a function of the electron density. Data obtained using a bias spectroscopy technique are consistent with the spin gap widening further as the Fermi level is increased.
148 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Experimental evidence is presented that a quantum point contact -- a short wire -- made from a semiconductor with high intrinsic spin-orbit coupling can generate a completely spin-polarized current when its lateral confinement is made highly asymmetric.
Abstract: The controlled creation, manipulation and detection of spin-polarized currents by purely electrical means remains a central challenge of spintronics. Efforts to meet this challenge by exploiting the coupling of the electron orbital motion to its spin, in particular Rashba spin-orbit coupling, have so far been unsuccessful. Recently, it has been shown theoretically that the confining potential of a small current-carrying wire with high intrinsic spin-orbit coupling leads to the accumulation of opposite spins at opposite edges of the wire, though not to a spin-polarized current. Here, we present experimental evidence that a quantum point contact -- a short wire -- made from a semiconductor with high intrinsic spin-orbit coupling can generate a completely spin-polarized current when its lateral confinement is made highly asymmetric. By avoiding the use of ferromagnetic contacts or external magnetic fields, such quantum point contacts may make feasible the development of a variety of semiconductor spintronic devices.
127 citations
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Abstract: The conditions necessary in metals for the presence or absence of localized moments on solute ions containing inner shell electrons are analyzed. A self-consistent Hartree-Fock treatment shows that there is a sharp transition between the magnetic state and the nonmagnetic state, depending on the density of states of free electrons, the $s\ensuremath{-}d$ admixture matrix elements, and the Coulomb correlation integral in the $d$ shell; that in the magnetic state the $d$ polarization can be reduced rather severely to nonintegral values, without appreciable free electron polarization because of a compensation effect; and that in the nonmagnetic state the virtual localized $d$ level tends to lie near the Fermi surface. It is emphasized that the condition for the magnetic state depends on the Coulomb (i.e., exchange self-energy) integral, and that the usual type of exchange alone is not large enough in $d$-shell ions to allow magnetic moments to be present. We show that the susceptibility and specific heat due to the inner shell electrons show strongly contrasting behavior even in the nonmagnetic state. A calculation including degenerate $d$ orbitals and $d\ensuremath{-}d$ exchange shows that the orbital angular momentum can be quenched, even when localized spin moments exist, and even on an isolated magnetic atom, by kinetic energy effects.
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