Transport through a quantum dot subject to spin and charge bias

Spin and charge transport through a quantum dot coupled to external nonmagnetic leads is analyzed theoretically in terms of the non-equilibrium Green function formalism based on the equation of motion method. The dot is assumed to be subject to spin and charge bias, and the considerations are focused on the Kondo effect in spin and charge transport. It is shown that the differential spin conductance as a function of spin bias reveals a typical zero-bias Kondo anomaly which becomes split when either magnetic field or charge bias are applied. Significantly different behavior is found for mixed charge/spin conductance. The influence of electron-phonon coupling in the dot on tunneling current as well as on both spin and charge conductance is also analyzed.     

Double-dot charge qubit and transport via dissipative cotunneling

We investigate transport through an exotic charge qubit composed of two strongly capacitively coupled quantum dots, each being independently connected to a side gate which in general exhibits a fluctuating electrostatic field (i.e., Johnson-Nyquist noise). Two quantum phases are found: the "Kondo" phase where an orbital-Kondo entanglement emerges and a "local moment" phase in which the noise destroys the Kondo effect leaving the orbital spin unscreened and resulting in a clear suppression of the conductance. In the Kondo realm, the transfer of charge across the setting is accompanied by zero-point charge fluctuations in the two dissipative environments and then the I-V characteristics are governed by what we call "dissipative cotunneling."     

Voltage-controlled Kosterlitz–Thouless transitions and various kinds of Kondo behaviors in a triple dot device

The transport property and phase transition for a parallel triple dot device are studied by adopting Wilson's numerical renormalization group technique, focusing on the effects of level spacings between neighboring dot sites. By keeping dot 2at the half-filled level and tuning the level differences, it is demonstrated that the system transits from local spin quadruplet to triplet and doublet sequently, and three kinds of Kondo peaks at the Fermi surface could be found, which are separated by two Kosterlitz–Thouless type quantum phase transitions and correspond to spin-3/2, spin-1, and spin-1/2 Kondo effect,respectively. To obtain a detailed understanding of these problems, the charge occupation, the spin–spin correlation, the transmission coefficient, and the temperature-dependent magnetic moment are shown, and necessary physical arguments are given.     

Transmission phase of a singly occupied quantum dot in the Kondo regime

We report on the phase measurements on a quantum dot containing a single electron in the Kondo regime. Transport takes place through a single orbital state. Although the conductance is far from the unitary limit, we measure directly, for the first time, a transmission phase as theoretically predicted of pi/2. As the dot's coupling to the leads is decreased, with the dot entering the Coulomb blockade regime, the phase reaches a value of pi. Temperature shows little effect on the phase behavior in the range 30-600 mK, even though both the two-terminal conductance and amplitude of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations are strongly affected. These results also suggest that previous phase measurements involved transport through more than a single level.     

Quantum dot in the Kondo regime coupled to superconductors

The Kondo effect and superconductivity are both prime examples of many-body phenomena. Here we report transport measurements on a carbon nanotube quantum dot coupled to superconducting leads that show a delicate interplay between both effects. We demonstrate that the superconductivity of the leads does not destroy the Kondo correlations on the quantum dot when the Kondo temperature, which varies for different single-electron states, exceeds the superconducting gap energy.     

Transition from the Kondo effect to a Coulomb blockade in an electron shuttle

We investigate the effect of the mechanical motion of a quantum dot on the transport properties of a quantum dot shuttle.Employing the equation of motion method for the nonequilibrium Green’s function,we show that the oscillation of the dot,i.e.,the time-dependent coupling between the dot’s electron and the reservoirs,can destroy the Kondo effect.With the increase in the oscillation frequency of the dot,the density of states of the quantum dot shuttle changes from the Kondo-like to a Coulomb-blockade pattern.Increasing the coupling between the dot and the electrodes may partly recover the Kondo peak in the spectrum of the density of states.Understanding of the effect of mechanical motion on the transport properties of an electron shuttle is important for the future application of nanoelectromechanical devices.     

Quantum size effects of CO reactivity on metallic quantum dots

We study the reactivity of a metallic quantum dot when exposed to a gas phase CO molecule. First, we perform a Newns-Anderson model calculation in which the valence electrons of the quantum dot are confined by a finite potential well and the molecule is characterized by its lowest unoccupied molecular orbital in the gas phase. A pronounced quantum size effect regarding the charge transfer between the quantum dot and molecule is observed. We then perform a first-principles calculation for a selected size interval. The quantum dot is described within the jellium model and the molecule by pseudopotentials. Our results show that the charge transfer between the quantum dot and the molecule depends critically on the size of the quantum dot, and that this dependence is intimately connected with the electronic structure. The key factor for charge transfer is the presence of states with the symmetry of the chemically active molecular orbital at the Fermi level.     

Hanbury Brown-Twiss correlations and noise in the charge transfer statistics through a multiterminal Kondo dot

We analyze the charge transfer statistics through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime, when coupled to an arbitrary number of terminals N. Special attention is paid to current cross correlations between concurring transport channels, which show distinct Hanbury Brown-Twiss antibunching for N>2 reflecting the fermionic nature of charge carriers. While this effect weakens as one moves away from the Kondo fixed point, a new type of correlations between nonconcurring channels emerges which are due entirely to the virtual polarization of the Kondo singlet. As these are not obscured by the background from fixed-point correlations they provide a promising means for extracting information on the parameters of the underlying Fermi-liquid model from the experimental data.     

Universal scaling in nonequilibrium transport through a single channel Kondo dot

Scaling laws and universality play an important role in our understanding of critical phenomena and the Kondo effect. We present measurements of nonequilibrium transport through a single-channel Kondo quantum dot at low temperature and bias. We find that the low-energy Kondo conductance is consistent with universality between temperature and bias and is characterized by a quadratic scaling exponent, as expected for the spin-1/2 Kondo effect. We show that the nonequilibrium Kondo transport measurements are well described by a universal scaling function with two scaling parameters.     

Entanglement switching via the Kondo effect in triple quantum dots

We consider a triple quantum dot system in a triangular geometry with one of the dots connected to metallic leads. Using Wilson’s numerical renormalization group method, we investigate quantum entanglement and its relation to the thermodynamic and transport properties in the regime where each of the dots is singly occupied on average, but with non-negligible charge fluctuations. It is shown that even in the regime of significant charge fluctuations the formation of the Kondo singlets induces switching between separable and perfectly entangled states. The quantum phase transition between unentangled and entangled states is analyzed quantitatively and the corresponding phase diagram is explained by exactly solvable spin model. In the framework of an effective model we also explain smearing of the entanglement transition for cases when the symmetry of the triple quantum dot system is relaxed.     

Spin fractionalization of an even number of electrons in a quantum Dot

We find that Kondo resonant conductance can occur in a quantum dot in the Coulomb blockade regime with an even number of electrons N. The contacts are attached to the dot in a pillar configuration, and a magnetic field B( perpendicular) along the axis is applied. B( perpendicular) lifts the spin degeneracy of the dot energies. Usually, this prevents the system from developing the Kondo effect. Tuning B( perpendicular) to the value B(*) where levels with different total spin cross restores both the degeneracy and the Kondo effect. We analyze a dot charged with N = 2 electrons. Coupling to the contacts is antiferromagnetic due to a spin selection rule and, in the Kondo state, the charge is unchanged while the total spin on the dot is S = 1/2.     

Effect of localized spins in coherent transport through quantum dots

The effect of localized spins on the quantum coherence in solids is discussed. A quantum dot with an odd number of electrons can be a model system for a localized spin. It is experimentally shown that a spin flip scattering by a quantum dot pulls the trigger of quantum decoherence. On the other hand, spin flip scattering is the basic process to construct the Kondo singlet state around a magnetic impurity. Through an interference effect of the Kondo state (the Fano–Kondo effect) in a side-coupled dot system, we show experimentally that the Kondo singlet state is quantum mechanically coherent. The analysis of the Fano–Kondo lineshape indicates the locking of the phase shift to π/2, which is in agreement with theoretical predictions. The Fano–Kondo effect is also observed in an Aharonov–Bohm ring, in which a quantum dot is embedded, and also indicates the phase shift locking to π/2.     

Spin-flip Fano–Kondo resonant tunneling through a quantum dot interferometer responded by a rotating magnetic field

The Fano and Kondo cooperated resonant tunneling through a quantum dot interferometer under the perturbation of a rotating magnetic field is investigated theoretically. The spin-polarized current components have been derived generally by employing the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green?s function method, through which the charge and spin currents are determined directly. The numerical calculations on spin and charge currents are performed to show the compound features of mesoscopic transport associated with the Kondo, Fano, and Zeeman effects intimately. The induced spin current in the Kondo regime is much different from the one in the non-interacting regime. The spin current is tuned from resonant peak to valley by varying external parameters.     

Transport properties of a single-quantum dot Aharonov-Bohm interferometer

We consider a two-terminal Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interferometer with a quantum dot inserted in one path of the AB ring. We investigate the transport properties of this system in and out of the Kondo regime. We utilize perturbation theory to calculate the electron self-energy of the quantum dot with respect to the intradot Coulomb interaction. We show the expression of the Kondo temperature as a function of the AB phase together with its dependence on other characteristics such as the linewidth of the ring and the finite Coulomb interaction and the energy levels of the quantum dot. The current oscillates periodically as a function of the AB phase. The amplitude of the current oscillation decreases with increasing Coulomb interaction. For a given temperature, the electron transport through the AB interferometer can be selected to be in or out of the Kondo regime by changing the magnetic flux threading perpendicular to the AB ring of the system.     

Multipeak Kondo effect in one- and two-electron quantum dots

We have fabricated a few-electron quantum dot that can be tuned down to zero electrons while maintaining strong coupling to the leads. Using a nearby quantum point contact as a charge sensor, we can determine the absolute number of electrons in the quantum dot. We find several sharp peaks in the differential conductance, occurring at both zero and finite source-drain bias, for the one- and two-electron quantum dot. We attribute the peaks at finite bias to a Kondo effect through excited states of the quantum dot and investigate the magnetic field dependence of these Kondo resonances.     

Tunable Kondo effect in a double quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic contacts

We investigate the effects induced by ferromagnetic contacts attached to a serial double quantum dot. Spin polarization generates effective magnetic fields and suppresses the Kondo effect in each dot. The superexchange interaction J(AFM), tuned by the interdot tunneling rate t, can be used to compensate the effective fields and restore the Kondo resonance when the contact polarizations are aligned. As a consequence, the direction of the spin conductance can be controlled and even reversed using electrostatic gates alone. Our results demonstrate a new approach for controlling spin-dependent transport in carbon nanotube double dot devices.     

Quantum fluctuations and the Kondo effect in small quantum dots

We consider electron transport through quantum dots with large level spacing and charging energy. At low temperature and strong coupling to the leads, quantum fluctuations and the Kondo effect become important. They show up, e.g., as zero-bias anomalies in the current–voltage characteristics. We use a recently developed diagrammatic technique as well as a new real-time renormalization-group approach to describe charge and spin fluctuations. The latter gives rise to a Kondo-assisted enhancement of the current through the dot as seen in experiments.     

Adiabatic pumping in the mixed-valence and Kondo regimes

We investigate adiabatic pumping through a quantum dot with a single level in the mixed-valence and Kondo regimes using the slave boson mean field approximation. The pumped current is driven by a gauge potential due to time-dependent tunneling barriers as well as by the modulation of the Friedel phase. The sign of the former contribution depends on the strength of the Coulomb interaction. Under finite magnetic fields, the separation of the spin and charge currents peculiar to the Kondo effect occurs.     

Electronic spin precession and interferometry from spin-orbital entanglement in a double quantum dot

A double quantum dot inserted in parallel between two metallic leads can entangle the electron spin with the orbital (dot index) degree of freedom. An Aharonov-Bohm orbital phase can be transferred to the spinor wave function, providing a geometrical control of the spin precession around a fixed magnetic field. A fully coherent behavior occurs in a mixed orbital-spin Kondo regime. Evidence for the spin precession can be obtained, either using spin-polarized metallic leads or by placing the double dot in one branch of a metallic loop.