59 research outputs found
Effect of the shot-noise on a Coulomb blockaded single Josephson junction
We have investigated how the Coulomb blockade of a mesoscopic Josephson
junction in a high-impedance environment is suppressed by shot noise from an
adjacent junction. The presented theoretical analysis is an extension of the
phase correlation theory for the case of a non-Gaussian noise. Asymmetry of the
non-Gaussian noise should result in the shift of the conductance minimum from
zero voltage and the ratchet effect (nonzero current at zero voltage), which
have been experimentally observed. The analysis demonstrates that a Coulomb
blockaded tunnel junction in a high impedance environment can be used as an
effective noise detector.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; figure and typos corrected, added reference
Influence of a Random Telegraph Process on the Transport through a Point Contact
We describe the transport properties of a point contact under the influence
of a classical two-level fluctuator. We employ a transfer matrix formalism
allowing us to calculate arbitrary correlation functions of the stochastic
process by mapping them on matrix products. The result is used to obtain the
generating function of the full counting statistics of a classical point
contact subject to a classical fluctuator, including extensions to a pair of
two-level fluctuators as well as to a quantum point contact. We show that the
noise in the quantum point contact is a sum of the (quantum) partitioning noise
and the (classical) noise due to the two-level fluctuator. As a side result, we
obtain the full counting statistics of a quantum point contact with
time-dependent transmission probabilities.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure; a new section about experiments and a figure
showing the crossover from sub- to superpoissonian noise have been adde
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
Quantum-enhanced magnetometry by phase estimation algorithms with a single artificial atom
Phase estimation algorithms are key protocols in quantum information processing. Besides applications in quantum computing, they can also be employed in metrology as they allow for fast extraction of information stored in the quantum state of a system. Here, we implement two suitably modified phase estimation procedures, the Kitaev and the semiclassical Fourier-transform algorithms, using an artificial atom realized with a superconducting transmon circuit. We demonstrate that both algorithms yield a flux sensitivity exceeding the classical shot-noise limit of the device, allowing one to approach the Heisenberg limit. Our experiment paves the way for the use of superconducting qubits as metrological devices which are potentially able to outperform the best existing flux sensors with a sensitivity enhanced by few orders of magnitude
Time ordering and counting statistics
The basic quantum mechanical relation between fluctuations of transported
charge and current correlators is discussed. It is found that, as a rule, the
correlators are to be time-ordered in an unusual way. Instances where the
difference with the conventional ordering matters are illustrated by means of a
simple scattering model. We apply the results to resolve a discrepancy
concerning the third cumulant of charge transport across a quantum point
contact.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure; inconsequential mistake and typos correcte
Entanglement in mesoscopic structures: Role of projection
Wetensch. publicatieFaculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappe
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
Spin-Flip Noise in a Multi-Terminal Spin-Valve
We study shot noise and cross correlations in a four terminal spin-valve
geometry using a Boltzmann-Langevin approach. The Fano factor (shot noise to
current ratio) depends on the magnetic configuration of the leads and the
spin-flip processes in the normal metal. In a four-terminal geometry, spin-flip
processes are particular prominent in the cross correlations between terminals
with opposite magnetization.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Momentum noise in a quantum point contact
Ballistic electrons flowing through a constriction can transfer momentum to
the lattice and excite a vibration of a free-standing conductor. We show (both
numerically and analytically) that the electromechanical noise power P does not
vanish on the plateaus of quantized conductance -- in contrast to the current
noise. The dependence of on the constriction width can be oscillatory or
stepwise, depending on the geometry. The stepwise increase amounts to an
approximate quantization of momentum noise.Comment: 4 pages including 4 figure
Bell inequalities and entanglement in solid state devices
Bell-inequality checks constitute a probe of entanglement -- given a source
of entangled particles, their violation are a signature of the non-local nature
of quantum mechanics. Here, we study a solid state device producing pairs of
entangled electrons, a superconductor emitting Cooper pairs properly split into
the two arms of a normal-metallic fork with the help of appropriate filters. We
formulate Bell-type inequalities in terms of current-current cross-correlators,
the natural quantities measured in mesoscopic physics; their violation provides
evidence that this device indeed is a source of entangled electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
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