8,720 research outputs found
Strong Tunneling and Coulomb Blockade in a Single-Electron Transistor
We have developed a detailed experimental study of a single-electron
transistor in a strong tunneling regime. Although weakened by strong charge
fluctuations, Coulomb effects were found to persist in all samples including
one with the effective conductance 8 times higher than the quantum value (6.45
k). A good agreement between our experimental data and
theoretical results for the strong tunneling limit is found. A reliable
operation of transistors with conductances 3-4 times larger than the quantum
value is demonstrated.Comment: revtex, 4 page
Point Charge Self-Energy in the General Relativity
Singularities in the metric of the classical solutions to the Einstein
equations (Schwarzschild, Kerr, Reissner -- Nordstr\"om and Kerr -- Newman
solutions) lead to appearance of generalized functions in the Einstein tensor
that are not usually taken into consideration. The generalized functions can be
of a more complex nature than the Dirac \d-function. To study them, a
technique has been used based on a limiting solution sequence. The solutions
are shown to satisfy the Einstein equations everywhere, if the energy-momentum
tensor has a relevant singular addition of non-electromagnetic origin. When the
addition is included, the total energy proves finite and equal to , while
for the Kerr and Kerr--Newman solutions the angular momentum is .
As the Reissner--Nordstr\"om and Kerr--Newman solutions correspond to the point
charge in the classical electrodynamics, the result obtained allows us to view
the point charge self-energy divergence problem in a new fashion.Comment: VI Fridmann Seminar, France, Corsica, Corgeze, 2004, LaTeX, 6 pages,
2 fige
Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of a particle coupled to dissipative environments
The amplitude of the Bohm-Aharonov oscillations of a particle moving around a
ring threaded by a magnetic flux and coupled to different dissipative
environments is studied. The decay of the oscillations when increasing the
radius of the ring is shown to depend on the spatial features of the coupling.
When the environment is modelled by the Caldeira-Leggett bath of oscillators,
or the particle is coupled by the Coulomb potential to a dirty electron gas,
interference effects are suppressed beyond a finite length, even at zero
temperature. A finite renormalization of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations is
found for other models of the environment.Comment: 6 page
Full Counting Statistics for a Single-Electron Transistor, Non-equilibrium Effects at Intermediate Conductance
We evaluate the current distribution for a single-electron transistor with
intermediate strength tunnel conductance. Using the Schwinger-Keldysh approach
and the drone (Majorana) fermion representation we account for the
renormalization of system parameters. Nonequilibrium effects induce a lifetime
broadening of the charge-state levels, which suppress large current
fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Dephasing Times in a Non-degenerate Two-Dimensional Electron Gas
Studies of weak localization by scattering from vapor atoms for electrons on
a liquid helium surface are reported. There are three contributions to the
dephasing time. Dephasing by the motion of vapor atoms perpendicular to the
surface is studied by varying the holding field to change the characteristic
width of the electron layer at the surface. A change in vapor density alters
the quasi-elastic scattering length and the dephasing due to the motion of
atoms both perpendicular and parallel to the surface. Dephasing due to the
electron-electron interaction is dependent on the electron density.Comment: 4 pages, Revte
Snow metamorphism: a fractal approach
Snow is a porous disordered medium consisting of air and three water phases:
ice, vapour and liquid. The ice phase consists of an assemblage of grains, ice
matrix, initially arranged over a random load bearing skeleton. The
quantitative relationship between density and morphological characteristics of
different snow microstructures is still an open issue. In this work, a
three-dimensional fractal description of density corresponding to different
snow microstructure is put forward. First, snow density is simulated in terms
of a generalized Menger sponge model. Then, a fully three-dimensional compact
stochastic fractal model is adopted. The latter approach yields a quantitative
map of the randomness of the snow texture, which is described as a
three-dimensional fractional Brownian field with the Hurst exponent H varying
as continuous parameter. The Hurst exponent is found to be strongly dependent
on snow morphology and density. The approach might be applied to all those
cases where the morphological evolution of snow cover or ice sheets should be
conveniently described at a quantitative level
Decoherence of Schrodinger cat states in a Luttinger liquid
Schrodinger cat states built from quantum superpositions of left or right
Luttinger fermions located at different positions in a spinless Luttinger
liquid are considered. Their decoherence rates are computed within the
bosonization approach using as environments the quantum electromagnetic field
or two or three dimensionnal acoustic phonon baths. Emphasis is put on the
differences between the electromagnetic and acoustic environments.Comment: 22 pages revtex4, 7 figures in a separate PS fil
Absence of electron dephasing at zero temperature
Dephasing of electrons due to the electron-electron interaction has recently
been the subject of a controversial debate, with different calculations
yielding mutually incompatible results. In this paper we prove, by means of
Ward identities, that neither a Coulomb interaction nor a short-ranged model
interaction can lead to phase breaking at zero temperature in spatial
dimensions d>2.Comment: 7 pp., LaTeX, no figs, final version as publishe
Parity-Affected Superconductivity in Ultrasmall Metallic Grains
We investigate the breakdown of BCS superconductivity in {\em ultra}\/small
metallic grains as a function of particle size (characterized by the mean
spacing between discrete electronic eigenstates), and the parity ( =
even/odd) of the number of electrons on the island. Assuming equally spaced
levels, we solve the parity-dependent BCS gap equation for the order parameter
. Both the critical level spacing and the
critical temperature at which are parity
dependent, and both are so much smaller in the odd than the even case that
these differences should be measurable in current experiments.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 1 encapsulated postscript figure, submitted to
Physical Review Letter
Nonequilibrium theory of Coulomb blockade in open quantum dots
We develop a non-equilibrium theory to describe weak Coulomb blockade effects
in open quantum dots. Working within the bosonized description of electrons in
the point contacts, we expose deficiencies in earlier applications of this
method, and address them using a 1/N expansion in the inverse number of
channels. At leading order this yields the self-consistent potential for the
charging interaction. Coulomb blockade effects arise as quantum corrections to
transport at the next order. Our approach unifies the phase functional and
bosonization approaches to the problem, as well as providing a simple picture
for the conductance corrections in terms of renormalization of the dot's
elastic scattering matrix, which is obtained also by elementary perturbation
theory. For the case of ideal contacts, a symmetry argument immediately allows
us to conclude that interactions give no signature in the averaged conductance.
Non-equilibrium applications to the pumped current in a quantum pump are worked
out in detail.Comment: Published versio
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