Interaction versus dimerization in one-dimensional Fermi systems

In order to study the effect of interaction and lattice distortion on quantum coherence in one-dimensional Fermi systems, we calculate the ground state energy and the phase sensitivity of a ring of interacting spinless fermions on a dimerized lattice. Our numerical DMRG (Density Matrix Renormalization Group) studies, in which we keep up to 1000 states for systems of about 100 sites, are supplemented by analytical considerations using bosonization techniques. We find a delocalized phase for an attractive interaction, which differs from that obtained for random lattice distortions. The extension of this delocalized phase depends strongly on the dimerization induced modification of the interaction. Taking into account the harmonic lattice energy, we find a dimerized ground state for a repulsive interaction only. The dimerization is suppressed at half filling, when the correlation gap becomes large.Comment: EPJ-style, 8 pages including 12 figures, to be published in EPJ

Persistent current induced by magnetic impurities

We calculate the average persistent current in a normal conducting, mesoscopic ring in the diffusive regime. In the presence of magnetic impurities, a contribution to the persistent current is identified, which is related to fluctuations in the electron spin density. Assuming a spin-flip scattering rate which is comparable to the Thouless energy E_c and low temperature, this new contribution to the persistent current is of the order $I\sim E_c^2/(kT\phi_0)$, which is considerably larger than the persistent current induced by the electron-electron interaction.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Z. Phys.

Comment on "Magnetic response of Disordered Metallic Rings: Large Contributions of Far Levels"

Comment on cond-mat/0205390; PRL 90, 026805 (2003

Persistent Currents versus Phase Breaking in Mesoscopic Metallic Samples

Persistent currents in mesoscopic normal metal rings represent, even a decade after their first experimental observation, a challenge to both, theorists and experimentalists. After giving a brief review of the existing -- experimental and theoretical -- results, we concentrate on the (proposed) relationship of the size of the persistent current to the phase breaking rate. In particular, we consider effects induced by noise, scattering at two-level systems, and magnetic impurities.Comment: accepted by JLT

Multi-terminal far-from-equilibrium thermoelectric nano-devices in the Kondo regime

The quest for good thermoelectric materials and/or high-efficiency thermoelectric devices is of primary importance from theoretical and practical points of view. Low-dimensional structures with quantum dots or molecules are promising candidates to achieve the goal. Interactions between electrons, far-from-equilibrium conditions and strongly non-linear transport are important factors affecting the usefulness of the devices. This paper analyses the thermoelectric power of a two-terminal quantum dot under large thermal $\Delta T$ and voltage $V$ biases as well as the performance of the three-terminal system as a heat engine. To properly characterise the non-linear effects under these conditions, two different Seebeck coefficients are introduced, generalizing the linear response expression. The direct calculations of thermally induced electric and heat currents show, in agreement with recent work, that the efficiency of the thermoelectric heat engine as measured by the delivered power is maximal far from equilibrium. Moreover, the strong Coulomb interactions between electrons on the quantum dot are found to diminish the efficiency at maximum power and the maximal value of the delivered power, both in the Kondo regime and outside of it.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figure

Non-linear conductivity of charge-density-wave systems

We consider the problem of sliding motion of a charge-density-wave subject to static disorder within an elastic medium model. Starting with a field-theoretical formulation, which allows exact disorder averaging, we propose a self-consistent approximation scheme to obtain results beyond the standard large-velocity expansion. Explicit calculations are carried out in three spatial dimensions. For the conductivity, we find a strong-coupling regime at electrical fields just above the pinning threshold. Phase and velocity correlation functions scale differently from the high-field regime, and static phase correlations converge to the pinned-phase behaviour. The sliding charge-density-wave is accompanied by narrow-band noise.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Spin Hall effects due to phonon skew scattering

A diversity of spin Hall effects in metallic systems is known to rely on Mott skew scattering. In this work its high-temperature counterpart, phonon skew scattering, which is expected to be of foremost experimental relevance, is investigated. In particular, the phonon skew scattering spin Hall conductivity is found to be practically $T$-independent for temperatures above the Debye temperature $T_D$. As a consequence, in Rashba-like systems a high-$T$ linear behavior of the spin Hall angle demonstrates the dominance of extrinsic spin-orbit scattering only if the intrinsic spin splitting is smaller than the temperature.Comment: Accepted version, 4 (+1) pages, 2 figure

Thermoelectric properties of the misfit cobaltate Ca3_3Co4_4O9_9

The layered misfit cobaltate Ca$_3$Co$_4$O$_9$, also known as Ca$_2$CoO$_3$[CoO$_2$]$_{1.62}$, is a promising p-type thermoelectric oxide. Employing density functional theory, we study its electronic structure and determine, on the basis of Boltzmann theory within the constant-relaxation-time approximation, the thermoelectric transport coefficients. The dependence on strain and temperature is determined. In particular, we find that the $xx$-component of the thermopower is strongly enhanced, while the $yy$-component is strongly reduced, when applying 2% tensile strain. A similar anisotropy is also found in the power factor. The temperature dependence of the conductivity in the $a$-$b$ plane is found to be rather weak above 200 K, which clearly indicates that the experimentally observed transport properties are dominated by inhomogeneities arising during sample growth, i.e., are not intrinsic.Comment: 12 pages (preprint style), 5 figure