Electronic dephasing in wires due to metallic gates

The dephasing effect of metallic gates on electrons moving in one quasi--one--dimensional diffusive wires is analyzed. The incomplete screening in this geometry implies that the effect of the gate can be described, at high energies or temperatures, as an electric field fluctuating in time. The resulting system can be considered a realization of the Caldeira-Leggett model of an environment coupled to many particles. Within the range of temperatures where this approximation is valid, a simple estimation of the inverse dephasing time gives $\tau_{\rm G}^{-1} \propto T^{1/2}$.Comment: 6 page

Detecting charge noise with a Josephson junction: A problem of thermal escape in presence of non-Gaussian fluctuations

Motivated by several experimental activities to detect charge noise produced by a mesoscopic conductor with a Josephson junction as on-chip detector, the switching rate out of its zero-voltage state is studied. This process is related to the fundamental problem of thermal escape in presence of non-Gaussian fluctuations. In the relevant case of weak higher than second order cumulants, an effective Fokker-Planck equation is derived, which is then used to obtain an explicit expression for the escape rate. Specific results for the rate asymmetry due to the third moment of current noise allow to analyse experimental data and to optimize detection circuits.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; minor typos corrected, some revisions in the tex

Pseudo-diffusive magnetotransport in graphene

Transport properties through wide and short ballistic graphene junctions are studied in the presence of arbitrary dopings and magnetic fields. No dependence on the magnetic field is observed at the Dirac point for any current cumulant, just as in a classical diffusive system, both in normal-graphene-normal and normal-graphene-superconductor junctions. This pseudo-diffusive regime is however extremely fragile respect to doping at finite fields. We identify the crossovers to a field-suppressed and a normal ballistic transport regime in the magnetic field - doping parameter space, and provide a physical interpretation of the phase diagram. Remarkably, pseudo-diffusive transport is recovered away from the Dirac point in resonance with Landau levels at high magnetic fields.Comment: 4+ pages, 2 figures. Minor corrections. Published version

Weak values of electron spin in a double quantum dot

We propose a protocol for a controlled experiment to measure a weak value of the electron's spin in a solid state device. The weak value is obtained by a two step procedure -- weak measurement followed by a strong one (post-selection), where the outcome of the first measurement is kept provided a second post-selected outcome occurs. The set-up consists of a double quantum dot and a weakly coupled quantum point contact to be used as a detector. Anomalously large values of the spin of a two electron system are predicted, as well as negative values of the total spin. We also show how to incorporate the adverse effect of decoherence into this procedure.Comment: 4+ pages, 3 figures, final published versio

Frequency Dependence of Magnetopolarizability of Mesoscopic Grains

We calculate average magnetopolarizability of an isolated metallic sample at frequency $\omega$ comparable to the mean level spacing $\Delta$. The frequency dependence of the magnetopolarizability is described by a universal function of $\omega/\Delta$.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figur

Effect of Interactions on the Admittance of Ballistic Wires

A self-consistent theory of the admittance of a perfect ballistic, locally charge neutral wire is proposed. Compared to a non-interacting theory, screening effects drastically change the frequency behavior of the conductance. In the single-channel case the frequency dependence of the admittance is monotonic, while for two or more channels collective interchannel excitations lead to resonant structures in the admittance. The imaginary part of the admittance is typically positive, but can become negative near resonances.Comment: Presentation considerably modified; the results are unchanged. 4 pages, 2 figures .eps-format include

Spin-Dependent Hubbard Model and a Quantum Phase Transition in Cold Atoms

We describe an experimental protocol for introducing spin-dependent lattice structure in a cold atomic fermi gas using lasers. It can be used to realize Hubbard models whose hopping parameters depend on spin and whose interaction strength can be controlled with an external magnetic field. We suggest that exotic superfluidities will arise in this framework. An especially interesting possibility is a class of states that support coexisting superfluid and normal components, even at zero temperature. The quantity of normal component varies with external parameters. We discuss some aspects of the quantum phase transition that arises at the point where it vanishes.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; added/corrected references in [11] and [44

Cascade Boltzmann - Langevin approach to higher-order current correlations in diffusive metal contacts

The Boltzmann - Langevin approach is extended to calculations of third and fourth cumulants of current in diffusive-metal contacts. These cumulants result from indirect correlations between current fluctuations, which may be considered as "noise of noise". The calculated third cumulant coincides exactly with its quantum-mechanical value. The fourth cumulant tends to its quantum-mechanical value $-e^3I/105$ at high voltages and to a positive value $2e^2T/3R$ at V=0 changing its sign at $eV \sim 20T$.Comment: 6 pages, 2 eps figures, typo corrected, minor change

Magneto-polarisability of mesoscopic systems

In order to understand how screening is modified by electronic interferences in a mesoscopic isolated system, we have computed both analytically and numerically the average thermodynamic and time dependent polarisabilities of two dimensional mesoscopic samples in the presence of an Aharonov-Bohm flux. Two geometries have been considered: rings and squares. Mesoscopic correction to screening are taken into account in a self consistent way, using the response function formalism. The role of the statistical ensemble (canonical and grand canonical), disorder and frequency have been investigated. We have also computed first order corrections to the polarisability due to electron-electron interactions. Our main results concern the diffusive regime. In the canonical ensemble, there is no flux dependence polarisability when the frequency is smaller than the level spacing. On the other hand, in the grand canonical ensemble for frequencies larger than the mean broadening of the energy levels (but still small compared to the level spacing), the polarisability oscillates with flux, with the periodicity $h/2e$. The order of magnitude of the effect is given by $\delta \alpha/\alpha \propto (\lambda_s/Wg)$, where $\lambda$ is the Thomas Fermi screening length, $W$ the width of the rings or the size of the squares and $g$ their average dimensionless conductance. This magnetopolarisability of Aharonov-Bohm rings has been recently measured experimentally \cite{PRL_deblock00} and is in good agreement with our grand canonical result.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, revte