Transport through molecular junctions with a nonequilibrium phonon population

The calculation of the nonlinear conductance of a single-molecule junction is revisited. The self energy on the junction resulting from the electron-phonon interaction has at low temperatures logarithmic singularities (in the real part) and discontinuities (in the imaginary one) at the frequencies corresponding to the opening of the inelastic channels. These singularities generate discontinuities and logarithmic divergences (as a function of the bias voltage) in the low-temperature differential conductance around the inelastic thresholds. The self energy also depends on the population of the vibrational modes. The case of a vibrating free junction (not coupled to a thermal bath), where the phonon population is determined by the bias voltage is examined. We compare the resulting zero-temperature differential conductance with the one obtained for equilibrated phonons, and find that the difference is larger the larger is the bare transmission of the junction and the product of the electron dwell time on the junction with the phonon frequency.Comment: 4 page

The noise spectra of a biased quantum dot

The noise spectra associated with correlations of the current through a single level quantum dot, and with the charge fluctuations on the dot, are calculated for a finite bias voltage. The results turn out to be sensitive to the asymmetry of the dot's coupling to the two leads. At zero temperature, both spectra exhibit two or four steps (as a function of the frequency), depending on whether the resonant level lies outside or within the range between the chemical potentials on the two leads. In addition, the low frequency shot-noise exhibits dips in the charge noise and dips, peaks, and discontinuities in the derivative of the current noise. In spite of some smearing, several of these features persist at finite temperatures, where a dip can also turn into a peak

Transmission of two interacting electrons

The transmission of two electrons through a region where they interact is found to be enhanced by a renormalization of the repulsive interaction. For a specific example of the single-particle Hamiltonian, which includes a strongly attractive potential, the renormalized interaction becomes attractive, and the transmission has a pronounced maximum as function of the depth of the single-electron attractive potential. The results apply directly to a simple model of scattering of two interacting electrons by a quantum dot.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Quantized charge pumping by surface acoustic waves in ballistic quasi-1D channels

Adiabatic pumping of electrons induced by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in a ballistic quasi-1D quantum channel is considered using an exactly solvable tight-binding model for non-interacting electrons. The single-electron degrees of freedom, responsible for acoustoelectric current quantization, are related to the transmission resonances. We study the influence of experimentally controllable parameters (SAW power, gate voltage, source-drain bias, amplitude and phase of a secondary SAW beam) on the plateau-like structure of the acoustoelectric current. The results are consistent with existing experimental observations.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure