Determination of tunneling charge via current measurements

We consider a tunnel junction between two arbitrary non-linear systems in any dimension, which can be different. We show that the tunneling charge can be detected using three alternative methods based on current measurements. Besides being technically easier compared to noise measurements, these methods present valuable advantages: they do not require the knowledge of the underlying models, and some are accessible in the experimentally convenient low-voltage regime, where heating effects are reduced. The first method is based on the AC conductance, while the two others are based on photo-assisted current (PAC) and can be implemented for any time-dependence of the tunneling amplitude. These are promising for edge states in the regime of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE): the Hamiltonian does not have to be specified and can incorporate non-universal interactions between the edges, and it is more convenient to use an AC gate voltage rather than an AC bias. These methods apply for instance to weak barriers in 1-D systems, Superconductor-Insulator-Normal (SIN) or graphene-like structures.Comment: The form has been improved, with additional useful comments, citations have been added. 7 pages, one figur

Shot noise of weak cotunneling current: Non-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem

We study the noise of the cotunneling current through one or several tunnel-coupled quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime. We consider the regime of weak (elastic and inelastic) cotunneling, and prove a non-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem which leads to a universal expression for the noise-to-current ratio (Fano factor).Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, submitted for "Electronic Correlations: From meso- to nano-physics", edited by G. Montambaux and T. Martin, XXXVI Rencontres de Moriond, 200

Transport and Noise of Entangled Electrons

We consider a scattering set-up with an entangler and beam splitter where the current noise exhibits bunching behavior for electronic singlet states and antibunching behavior for triplet states. We show that the entanglement of two electrons in the double-dot can be detected in mesoscopic transport measurements. In the cotunneling regime the singlet and triplet states lead to phase-coherent current contributions of opposite signs and to Aharonov-Bohm and Berry phase oscillations in response to magnetic fields. We analyze the Fermi liquid effects in the transport of entangled electrons.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, uses lamuphys.sty (included), 1 eps figure embedded with epsf, to appear in Proceedings of the XVI Sitges Conference (Lecture Notes in Physics, Springer

Stochastic Field Theory for Transport Statistics in Diffusive Systems

We present a field theory for the statistics of charge and current fluctuations in diffusive systems. The cumulant generating function is given by the saddle-point solution for the action of this field theory. The action depends on two parameters only: the local diffusion and noise coefficients, which naturally leads to the universality of the transport statistics for a wide class of multi-dimensional diffusive models. Our theory can be applied to semi-classical mesoscopic systems, as well as beyond mesoscopic physics.Comment: Submitted to the proceedings of the XXXIXth Rencontres de Moriond (La Thuile, 2004) "Quantum information and decoherence in nanosystems

Fluctuation Statistics in Networks: a Stochastic Path Integral Approach

We investigate the statistics of fluctuations in a classical stochastic network of nodes joined by connectors. The nodes carry generalized charge that may be randomly transferred from one node to another. Our goal is to find the time evolution of the probability distribution of charges in the network. The building blocks of our theoretical approach are (1) known probability distributions for the connector currents, (2) physical constraints such as local charge conservation, and (3) a time-scale separation between the slow charge dynamics of the nodes and the fast current fluctuations of the connectors. We derive a stochastic path integral representation of the evolution operator for the slow charges. Once the probability distributions on the discrete network have been studied, the continuum limit is taken to obtain a statistical field theory. We find a correspondence between the diffusive field theory and a Langevin equation with Gaussian noise sources, leading nevertheless to non-trivial fluctuation statistics. To complete our theory, we demonstrate that the cascade diagrammatics, recently introduced by Nagaev, naturally follows from the stochastic path integral. We extend the diagrammatics to calculate current correlation functions for an arbitrary network. One primary application of this formalism is that of full counting statistics (FCS). We stress however, that the formalism is suitable for general classical stochastic problems as an alternative to the traditional master equation or Doi-Peliti technique. The formalism is illustrated with several examples: both instantaneous and time averaged charge fluctuation statistics in a mesoscopic chaotic cavity, as well as the FCS and new results for a generalized diffusive wire.Comment: Final version accepted in J. Math. Phys. Discussion of conservation laws, Refs., 1 Fig., and minor extensions added. 23 pages, 9 figs., double-column forma