Full counting statistics for voltage and dephasing probes

We present a stochastic path integral method to calculate the full counting statistics of conductors with energy conserving dephasing probes and dissipative voltage probes. The approach is explained for the experimentally important case of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, but is easily generalized to more complicated setups. For all geometries where dephasing may be modeled by a single one-channel dephasing probe we prove that our method yields the same full counting statistics as phase averaging of the cumulant generating function.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Elastic Stars in General Relativity: II. Radial perturbations

We study radial perturbations of general relativistic stars with elastic matter sources. We find that these perturbations are governed by a second order differential equation which, along with the boundary conditions, defines a Sturm-Liouville type problem that determines the eigenfrequencies. Although some complications arise compared to the perfect fluid case, leading us to consider a generalisation of the standard form of the Sturm-Liouville equation, the main results of Sturm-Liouville theory remain unaltered. As an important consequence we conclude that the mass-radius curve for a one-parameter sequence of regular equilibrium models belonging to some particular equation of state can be used in the same well-known way as in the perfect fluid case, at least if the energy density and the tangential pressure of the background solutions are continuous. In particular we find that the fundamental mode frequency has a zero for the maximum mass stars of the models with solid crusts considered in Paper I of this series.Comment: 22 pages, no figures, final version accepted for publication in Class. Quantum Grav. The treatment of the junction conditions has been improve

Andreev reflection eigenvalue density in mesoscopic conductors

The energy-dependent Andreev reflection eigenvalues determine the transport properties of normal-superconducting systems. We evaluate the eigenvalue density to get an insight into formation of resonant electron-hole transport channels. The circuit-theory-like method developed can be applied to any generic mesoscopic conductor or combinations thereof. We present the results for experimentally relevant cases of a diffusive wire and a double tunnel junction.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

An AB effect without closing a loop

We discuss the consequences of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in setups involving several charged particles, wherein none of the charged particles encloses a closed loop around the magnetic flux. We show that in such setups, the AB phase is encoded either in the relative phase of a bi-partite or multi-partite entangled photons states, or alternatively, gives rise to an overall AB phase that can be measured relative to another reference system. These setups involve processes of annihilation or creation of electron/hole pairs. We discuss the relevance of such effects in "vacuum Birefringence" in QED, and comment on their connection to other known effects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Energy dependent counting statistics in diffusive superconducting tunnel junctions

We present an investigation of the energy dependence of the full charge counting statistics in diffusive normal-insulating-normal-insulating-superconducting junctions. It is found that the current in general is transported via a correlated transfer of pairs of electrons. Only in the case of strongly asymmetric tunnel barriers or energies much larger than the Thouless energy is the pair transfer uncorrelated. The second cumulant, the noise, is found to depend strongly on the applied voltage and temperature. For a junction resistance dominated by the tunnel barrier to the normal reservoir, the differential shot noise shows a double peak feature at voltages of the order of the Thouless energy, a signature of an ensemble averaged electron-hole resonance.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Andreev bound states and π\pi -junction transition in a superconductor / quantum-dot / superconductor system

We study Andreev bound states and $\pi$-junction transition in a superconductor / quantum-dot / superconductor (S-QD-S) system by Green function method. We derive an equation to describe the Andreev bound states in S-QD-S system, and provide a unified understanding of the $\pi$-junction transition caused by three different mechanisms: (1) {\it Zeeman splitting.} For QD with two spin levels $E_{\uparrow}$ and $E_{\downarrow}$, we find that the surface of the Josephson current $I(\phi =\frac \pi 2)$ vs the configuration of $(E_{\uparrow},E_{\downarrow})$ exhibits interesting profile: a sharp peak around $E_{\uparrow}=E_{\downarrow}=0$; a positive ridge in the region of $E_{\uparrow}\cdot E_{\downarrow}>0$; and a {\em % negative}, flat, shallow plain in the region of $E_{\uparrow}\cdot E_{\downarrow}<0$. (2){\it \ Intra-dot interaction.} We deal with the intra-dot Coulomb interaction by Hartree-Fock approximation, and find that the system behaves as a $\pi$-junction when QD becomes a magnetic dot due to the interaction. The conditions for $\pi$-junction transition are also discussed. (3) {\it \ Non-equilibrium distribution.} We replace the Fermi distribution $f(\omega)$ by a non-equilibrium one $\frac 12[ f(\omega -V_c)+f(\omega +V_c)]$, and allow Zeeman splitting in QD where $$ The curves of $I(\phi =\frac \pi 2)$ vs $$ show the novel effect of interplay of non-equilibrium distribution with magnetization in QD.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, Late

Crustal failure during binary inspiral

We present the first fully relativistic calculations of the crustal strain induced in a neutron star by a binary companion at the late stages of inspiral, employing realistic equations of state for the fluid core and the solid crust. We show that while the deep crust is likely to fail only shortly before coalescence, there is a large variation in elastic strain, with the outermost layers failing relatively early on in the inspiral. We discuss the significance of the results for both electromagnetic and gravitational-wave astronomy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps figure

Clauser-Horne inequality and decoherence in mesoscopic conductors

We analyze the effect of decoherence on the violation of the Clauser-Horne (CH) inequality for the full electron counting statistics in a mesoscopic multiterminal conductor. Our setup consists of an entangler that emits a flux of entangled electrons into two conductors characterized by a scattering matrix and subject to decoherence. Loss of phase memory is modeled phenomenologically by introducing fictitious extra leads. The outgoing electrons are detected using spin-sensitive electron counters. Given a certain average number of incoming entangled electrons, the CH inequality is evaluated as a function of the numbers of detected particles and on the various quantities characterizing the scattering matrix. When decoherence is turned on, we show that the amount of violation of the CH inequality is effectively reduced. Interestingly we find that, by adjusting the parameters of the system, there exists a protected region of $Q$ values for which violation holds for arbitrary strong decoherence.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Published versio

Entanglement in Mesoscopic Structures: Role of Projection

We present a theoretical analysis of the appearance of entanglement in non-interacting mesoscopic structures. Our setup involves two oppositely polarized sources injecting electrons of opposite spin into the two incoming leads. The mixing of these polarized streams in an ideal four-channel beam splitter produces two outgoing streams with particular tunable correlations. A Bell inequality test involving cross-correlated spin-currents in opposite leads signals the presence of spin-entanglement between particles propagating in different leads. We identify the role of fermionic statistics and projective measurement in the generation of these spin-entangled electrons.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur