48,142 research outputs found
Mesoscopic Noise Theory: Microscopics, or Phenomenology?
We argue, physically and formally, that existing diffusive models of noise
yield inaccurate microscopic descriptions of nonequilibrium current
fluctuations. The theoretical shortfall becomes pronounced in quantum-confined
metallic systems, such as the two-dimensional electron gas. In such systems we
propose a simple experimental test of mesoscopic validity for diffusive
theory's central claim: the smooth crossover between Johnson-Nyquist and shot
noise.Comment: Invited paper, UPoN'99 Conference, Adelaide. 13 pp, no figs. Minor
revisions to text and reference
Ballistic transport is dissipative: the why and how
In the ballistic limit, the Landauer conductance steps of a mesoscopic
quantum wire have been explained by coherent and dissipationless transmission
of individual electrons across a one-dimensional barrier. This leaves untouched
the central issue of conduction: a quantum wire, albeit ballistic, has finite
resistance and so must dissipate energy. Exactly HOW does the quantum wire shed
its excess electrical energy? We show that the answer is provided, uniquely, by
many-body quantum kinetics. Not only does this inevitably lead to universal
quantization of the conductance, in spite of dissipation; it fully resolves a
baffling experimental result in quantum-point-contact noise. The underlying
physics rests crucially upon the action of the conservation laws in these open
metallic systems.Comment: Invited Viewpoint articl
High-field noise in metallic diffusive conductors
We analyze high-field current fluctuations in degenerate conductors by
mapping the electronic Fermi-liquid correlations at equilibrium to their
semiclassical non-equilibrium form. Our resulting Boltzmann description is
applicable to diffusive mesoscopic wires. We derive a non-equilibrium
connection between thermal fluctuations of the current and resistive
dissipation. In the weak-field limit this is the canonical fluctuation-
dissipation theorem. Away from equilibrium, the connection enables explicit
calculation of the excess ``hot-electron'' contribution to the thermal
spectrum. We show that excess thermal noise is strongly inhibited by Pauli
exclusion. This behaviour is generic to the semiclassical metallic regime.Comment: 13 pp, one fig. Companion paper to cond-mat/9911251. Final version,
to appear in J. Phys.: Cond. Ma
Coulomb screening in mesoscopic noise: a kinetic approach
Coulomb screening, together with degeneracy, is characteristic of the
metallic electron gas. While there is little trace of its effects in transport
and noise in the bulk, at mesoscopic scales the electronic fluctuations start
to show appreciable Coulomb correlations. Within a strictly standard Boltzmann
and Fermi-liquid framework, we analyze these phenomena and their relation to
the mesoscopic fluctuation-dissipation theorem, which we prove. We identify two
distinct screening mechanisms for mesoscopic fluctuations. One is the
self-consistent response of the contact potential in a non-uniform system. The
other couples to scattering, and is an exclusively non-equilibrium process.
Contact-potential effects renormalize all thermal fluctuations, at all scales.
Collisional effects are relatively short-ranged and modify non-equilibrium
noise. We discuss ways to detect these differences experimentally.Comment: Source: REVTEX. 16 pp.; 7 Postscript figs. Accepted for publication
in J. Phys.: Cond. Ma
What is novel in quantum transport for mesoscopics?
The understanding of mesoscopic transport has now attained an ultimate
simplicity. Indeed, orthodox quantum kinetics would seem to say little about
mesoscopics that has not been revealed - nearly effortlessly - by more popular
means. Such is far from the case, however. The fact that kinetic theory remains
very much in charge is best appreciated through the physics of a quantum point
contact. While discretization of its conductance is viewed as the exclusive
result of coherent, single-electron-wave transmission, this does not begin to
address the paramount feature of all metallic conduction: dissipation. A
perfect quantum point contact still has finite resistance, so its ballistic
carriers must dissipate the energy gained from the applied field. How do they
manage that? The key is in standard many-body quantum theory, and its
conservation principles.Comment: 10 pp, 3 figs. Invited talk at 50th Golden Jubilee DAE Symposium,
BARC, Mumbai, 200
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