37 research outputs found
Long-Range Coulomb Interaction and the Crossover between Quantum and Shot Noise in Diffusive Conductors
Frequency-dependent nonequilibrium noise in quantum-coherent diffusive
conductors is calculated with account taken of long-range Coulomb interaction.
For long and narrow contacts with strong external screening the crossover
between quantum and shot noise takes place at frequencies much smaller than the
voltage drop across the contact. We also show that under certain frequency
limitations, the semiclassical and quantum-coherent approaches to shot noise
are mathematically equivalent.Comment: 13 pages, RevTex, 7 ps figures, more details of derivation give
Coherent dynamics of a Josephson charge qubit
We have fabricated a Josephson charge qubit by capacitively coupling a
single-Cooper-pair box (SCB) to an electrometer based upon a single-electron
transistor configured for radio-frequency readout (RF-SET). Charge quantization
of 2e is observed and microwave spectroscopy is used to extract the Josephson
and charging energies of the box. We perform coherent manipulation of the SCB
by using very fast DC pulses and observe quantum oscillations in time of the
charge that persist to ~=10ns. The observed contrast of the oscillations is
high and agrees with that expected from the finite E_J/E_C ratio and finite
rise-time of the DC pulses. In addition, we are able to demonstrate nearly 100%
initial charge state polarization. We also present a method to determine the
relaxation time T_1 when it is shorter than the measurement time T_{meas}.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Single-shot measurement of the Josephson charge qubit
We demonstrate single-shot readout of quantum states of the Josephson charge
qubit. The quantum bits are transformed into and stored as classical bits
(charge quanta) in a dynamic memory cell - a superconducting island. The
transformation of state |1> (differing form state |0> by an extra Cooper pair)
is a result of a controllable quasiparticle tunneling to the island. The charge
is then detected by a conventional single-electron transistor,
electrostatically decoupled from the qubit. We study relaxation dynamics in the
system and obtain the readout efficiency of 87% and 93% for |1> and |0> states,
respectively.Comment: submitted to Rapid Communications of Phys. Rev. B (february 2004
Decoherence in circuits of small Josephson junctions
We discuss dephasing by the dissipative electromagnetic environment and by
measurement in circuits consisting of small Josephson junctions. We present
quantitative estimates and determine in which case the circuit might qualify as
a quantum bit. Specifically, we analyse a three junction Cooper pair pump and
propose a measurement to determine the decoherence time .Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Photo--assisted current and shot noise in the fractional quantum Hall effect
The effect of an AC perturbation on the shot noise of a fractional quantum
Hall fluid is studied both in the weak and the strong backscattering regimes.
It is known that the zero-frequency current is linear in the bias voltage,
while the noise derivative exhibits steps as a function of bias. In contrast,
at Laughlin fractions, the backscattering current and the backscattering noise
both exhibit evenly spaced singularities, which are reminiscent of the
tunneling density of states singularities for quasiparticles. The spacing is
determined by the quasiparticle charge and the ratio of the DC bias
with respect to the drive frequency. Photo--assisted transport can thus be
considered as a probe for effective charges at such filling factors, and could
be used in the study of more complicated fractions of the Hall effect. A
non-perturbative method for studying photo--assisted transport at is
developed, using a refermionization procedure.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Electronic and thermal sequential transport in metallic and superconducting two-junction arrays
The description of transport phenomena in devices consisting of arrays of
tunnel junctions, and the experimental confirmation of these predictions is one
of the great successes of mesoscopic physics. The aim of this paper is to give
a self-consistent review of sequential transport processes in such devices,
based on the so-called "orthodox" model. We calculate numerically the
current-voltage (I-V) curves, the conductance versus bias voltage (G-V) curves,
and the associated thermal transport in symmetric and asymmetric two-junction
arrays such as Coulomb-blockade thermometers (CBTs),
superconducting-insulator-normal-insulator-superconducting (SINIS) structures,
and superconducting single-electron transistors (SETs). We investigate the
behavior of these systems at the singularity-matching bias points, the
dependence of microrefrigeration effects on the charging energy of the island,
and the effect of a finite superconducting gap on Coulomb-blockade thermometry.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures; Berlin (ISBN: 978-3-642-12069-5
Mesoscopic mean-field theory for spin-boson chains in quantum optical systems
We present a theoretical description of a system of many spins strongly coupled to a bosonic chain. We rely on the use of a spin-wave theory describing the Gaussian fluctuations around the mean-field solution, and focus on spin-boson chains arising as a generalization of the Dicke Hamiltonian. Our model is motivated by experimental setups such as trapped ions, or atoms/qubits coupled to cavity arrays. This situation corresponds to the cooperative (E⊗β) Jahn-Teller distortion studied in solid-state physics. However, the ability to tune the parameters of the model in quantum optical setups opens up a variety of novel intriguing situations. The main focus of this paper is to review the spin-wave theoretical description of this problem as well as to test the validity of mean-field theory. Our main result is that deviations from mean-field effects are determined by the interplay between magnetic order and mesoscopic cooperativity effects, being the latter strongly size-dependent
Measuring the decoherence rate in a semiconductor charge qubit
We describe a method by which the decoherence time of a solid state qubit may
be measured. The qubit is coded in the orbital degree of freedom of a single
electron bound to a pair of donor impurities in a semiconductor host. The qubit
is manipulated by adiabatically varying an external electric field. We show
that, by measuring the total probability of a successful qubit rotation as a
function of the control field parameters, the decoherence rate may be
determined. We estimate various system parameters, including the decoherence
rates due to electromagnetic fluctuations and acoustic phonons. We find that,
for reasonable physical parameters, the experiment is possible with existing
technology. In particular, the use of adiabatic control fields implies that the
experiment can be performed with control electronics with a time resolution of
tens of nanoseconds.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, revtex
Shot Noise at High Temperatures
We consider the possibility of measuring non-equilibrium properties of the
current correlation functions at high temperatures (and small bias). Through
the example of the third cumulant of the current () we demonstrate
that odd order correlation functions represent non-equilibrium physics even at
small external bias and high temperatures. We calculate for a quasi-one-dimensional diffusive constriction. We calculate the
scaling function in two regimes: when the scattering processes are purely
elastic and when the inelastic electron-electron scattering is strong. In both
cases we find that interpolates between two constants. In the low (high)
temperature limit is strongly (weakly) enhanced (suppressed) by the
electron-electron scattering.Comment: 11 pages 4 fig. submitted to Phys. Rev.
Single Spin Measurement using Single Electron Transistors to Probe Two Electron Systems
We present a method for measuring single spins embedded in a solid by probing
two electron systems with a single electron transistor (SET). Restrictions
imposed by the Pauli Principle on allowed two electron states mean that the
spin state of such systems has a profound impact on the orbital states
(positions) of the electrons, a parameter which SET's are extremely well suited
to measure. We focus on a particular system capable of being fabricated with
current technology: a Te double donor in Si adjacent to a Si/SiO2 interface and
lying directly beneath the SET island electrode, and we outline a measurement
strategy capable of resolving single electron and nuclear spins in this system.
We discuss the limitations of the measurement imposed by spin scattering
arising from fluctuations emanating from the SET and from lattice phonons. We
conclude that measurement of single spins, a necessary requirement for several
proposed quantum computer architectures, is feasible in Si using this strategy.Comment: 22 Pages, 8 Figures; revised version contains updated references and
small textual changes. Submitted to Phys. Rev.