Single-electron coherence: Finite temperature versus pure dephasing

We analyze a coherent injection of single electrons on top of the Fermi sea in two situations, at finite-temperature and in the presence of pure dephasing. Both finite-temperature and pure dephasing change the property of the injected quantum states from pure to mixed. However, we show that the temperature-induced mixedness does not alter the coherence properties of these single-electron states. In particular two such mixed states exhibit perfect antibunching while colliding at an electronic wave splitter. This is in striking difference with the dephasing-induced mixedness which suppresses antibunching. On the contrary, a single-particle shot noise is suppressed at finite temperatures but is not affected by pure dephasing. This work therefore extends the investigation of the coherence properties of single-electron states to the case of mixed states and clarifies the difference between different types of mixedness.     

Reprint of : Single-electron coherence: Finite temperature versus pure dephasing

We analyze a coherent injection of single electrons on top of the Fermi sea in two situations, at finite-temperature and in the presence of pure dephasing. Both finite-temperature and pure dephasing change the property of the injected quantum states from pure to mixed. However, we show that the temperature-induced mixedness does not alter the coherence properties of these single-electron states. In particular two such mixed states exhibit perfect antibunching while colliding at an electronic wave splitter. This is in striking difference with the dephasing-induced mixedness which suppresses antibunching. On the contrary, a single-particle shot noise is suppressed at finite temperatures but is not affected by pure dephasing. This work therefore extends the investigation of the coherence properties of single-electron states to the case of mixed states and clarifies the difference between different types of mixedness.     

Influence of dephasing on shot noise in an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer

We analyze shot noise under the influence of dephasing in an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer, of the type that was realized recently [Nature (London) 422, 415 (2003)]]. Using a model of dephasing by a fluctuating classical field, we show how the usual partition noise expression T(1-T) is modified. We study the dependence on the power spectrum of the field, which is impossible in simpler approaches such as the dephasing terminal, against which we compare. We remark on shot noise as a tool to distinguish thermal smearing from genuine dephasing.     

Effective spin dephasing mechanism in confined two-dimensional topological insulators

A Kramers pair of helical edge states in quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE) is robust against normal dephasing but not robust to spin dephasing. In our work, we provide an effective spin dephasing mechanism in the puddles of two-dimensional (2D) QSHE, which is simulated as quantum dots modeled by 2D massive Dirac Hamiltonian. We demonstrate that the spin dephasing effect can originate from the combination of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and electron-phonon interaction, which gives rise to inelastic backscattering in edge states within the topological insulator quantum dots, although the time-reversal symmetry is preserved throughout. Finally, we discuss the tunneling between extended helical edge states and local edge states in the QSH quantum dots, which leads to backscattering in the extended edge states. These results can explain the more robust edge transport in InAs/GaSb QSH systems.     

Shot noise fluctuations in disordered graphene nanoribbons near the Dirac point

Random fluctuations of the shot-noise power in disordered graphene nanoribbons are studied. In particular, we calculate the distribution of the shot noise of nanoribbons with zigzag and armchair edge terminations. We show that the shot noise statistics is different for each type of these two graphene structures, which is a consequence of the presence of different electron localizations: while in zigzag nanoribbons electronic edge states are Anderson localized, in armchair nanoribbons edge states are absent, but electrons are anomalously localized. Our analytical results are verified by tight binding numerical simulations with random hopping elements, i.e., off diagonal disorder, which preserves the symmetry of the graphene sublattices.     

Scattering of bunched fractionally charged quasiparticles

We report the unexpected bunching of Laughlin's quasiparticles, induced by an extremely weak backscattering potential at exceptionally low electron temperatures (T<10 mK), deduced from shot noise measurements. Backscattered charges q=nue, specifically, q=e/3, q=2e/5, and q<3e/7, in the respective filling factors, were measured. For the same settings but at a slightly higher electron temperature, the measured backscattered charges were q=e/3, q=e/5, and q=e/7, as expected. Moreover, the backscattered current exhibited distinct temperature dependence that was correlated to the backscattered charge and the filling factor. This observation suggests the existence of "low" and "high" temperature backscattering states, each with its characteristic charge and energy.     

Reprint of : Shot noise fluctuations in disordered graphene nanoribbons near the Dirac point

Random fluctuations of the shot-noise power in disordered graphene nanoribbons are studied. In particular, we calculate the distribution of the shot noise of nanoribbons with zigzag and armchair edge terminations. We show that the shot noise statistics is different for each type of these two graphene structures, which is a consequence of the presence of different electron localizations: while in zigzag nanoribbons electronic edge states are Anderson localized, in armchair nanoribbons edge states are absent, but electrons are anomalously localized. Our analytical results are verified by tight binding numerical simulations with random hopping elements, i.e., off diagonal disorder, which preserves the symmetry of the graphene sublattices.     

Fractionalization noise in edge channels of integer quantum Hall states

A theoretical calculation is presented of current noise which is due charge fractionalization, in two interacting edge channels in the integer quantum Hall state at filling factor ν=2. Because of the capacitive coupling between the channels, a tunneling event, in which an electron is transferred from a biased source lead to one of the two channels, generates propagating plasma mode excitations which carry fractional charges on the other edge channel. When these excitations impinge on a quantum point contact, they induce low-frequency current fluctuations with no net average current. A perturbative treatment in the weak tunneling regime yields analytical integral expressions for the noise as a function of the bias on the source. Asymptotic expressions of the noise in the limits of high and low bias are found.     

ac Stark shift and dephasing of a superconducting qubit strongly coupled to a cavity field

We have performed spectroscopy of a superconducting charge qubit coupled nonresonantly to a single mode of an on-chip resonator. The strong coupling induces a large ac Stark shift in the energy levels of both the qubit and the resonator. The dispersive shift of the resonator frequency is used to nondestructively determine the qubit state. Photon shot noise in the measurement field induces qubit level fluctuations leading to dephasing which is characteristic for the measurement backaction. A crossover in line shape with measurement power is observed and theoretically explained. For weak measurement a long intrinsic dephasing time of T2>200 ns of the qubit is found.     

Nonuniversal behavior of scattering between fractional quantum Hall edges

In a fractional quantum Hall system with a narrow constriction, tunneling of quasiparticles between states at different edges can lead to resistance and to shot noise. The ratio of the shot noise to the backscattered current, in the weak scattering regime, measures the fractional charge of the quasiparticle, which has been confirmed in several experiments. However, the predicted nonlinearity of the resistance was apparently not observed in some of these cases. As a possible explanation, we consider a model where coupling between the current carrying edge mode and additional phononlike edge modes can lead to nonuniversal exponents in the current-voltage characteristic.     

Charge noise acting on graphene double quantum dots in circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture

We investigate the dephasing mechanisms induced by the charge noise and microwave heating effect acting on a graphene double quantum dot(DQD) capacitively coupled to a microwave resonator. The charge noise is obtained from DC transport current, and its contribution to dephasing is simultaneously determined by the amplitude response of the microwave resonator. A lowfrequency 1/f-type noise is demonstrated to be the dominant factor of the dephasing of graphene DQD. Furthermore, when the applied microwave power is larger than-90 d Bm, the dephasing rate of graphene DQD increases rapidly with the increase of microwave power, and fluctuates slightly with the applied microwave power smaller than-90 d Bm. Our results can be applied to suppress the impeditive influence on the dephasing of graphene-based devices associated with microwave input in the perspective investigations.     

Shot noise of the spin inelastic tunneling through a quantum dot with single molecule-magnet

We have studied the quantum fluctuations of inelastic spin-electron scattering in quantum dot with an embedded biaxial single molecule-magnet and particularly investigated the zero-frequency shot noise and Fano factor in different magnetic fields. It is found that the shot noise and Fano factor exhibit a stepwise behaviour as bias increases in the presence of interaction between the electron and molecule-magnet for a weak magnetic field. As magnetic field becomes strong, a dip is displayed in the shot-noise-bias curve due to the suppression of inelastic shot noise caused by the quantum tunneling of magnetisation. Because of the spontaneous inelastic tunneling at zero bias, a small shot noise occurs, which results in the case of Fano factor F >> 1. Moreover, our results show that the sweeping speed can also influence the shot noise and Fano factor obviously.     

Shot noise of a mesoscopic two-particle collider

We investigate the shot noise generated by particle emission from a mesoscopic capacitor into an edge state coupled to another edge state at a quantum point contact (QPC). For a capacitor subject to a periodic voltage the resulting shot noise is proportional to the number of particles (both electrons and holes) emitted during a period. The shot noise is proportional to the driving frequency, however it is independent of the applied voltage. If two capacitors are coupled to a QPC at different sides then the resulting shot noise is maximally the sum of noises produced by each of the capacitors. However, the noise is suppressed if particles of the same kind are emitted simultaneously.     

Rashba spin-orbit interaction and shot noise for spin-polarized and entangled electrons

We study shot noise for spin-polarized currents and entangled electron pairs in a four-probe (beam-splitter) geometry with a local Rashba spin-orbit (s-o) interaction in the incoming leads. Within the scattering formalism we find that shot noise exhibits Rashba-induced oscillations with continuous bunching and antibunching. We show that entangled states and triplet states can be identified via their Rashba phase in noise measurements. For two-channel leads, we find an additional spin rotation due to s-o induced interband coupling which enhances spin control. We show that the s-o interaction deter-mines the Fano factor, which provides a direct way to measure the Rashba coupling constant via noise.     

Nonequilibrium dephasing in an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer

We study nonequilibrium dephasing in an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer. We demonstrate that the shot noise at the beam splitter of the interferometer generates an ensemble of nonequilibrium electron density configurations and that electron interactions induce configuration-specific phase shifts of an interfering electron. The resulting dephasing exhibits two characteristic features, a lobe pattern in the visibility and phase jumps of pi, in good agreement with experimental data.     

Relevance of multiple quasiparticle tunneling between edge states at nu=p/(2np+1)

We present an explanation for the anomalous behavior in tunneling conductance and noise through a point contact between edge states in the Jain series nu=p/(2np+1), for extremely weak backscattering and low temperatures [Y. C. Chung, M. Heiblum, and V. Umansky, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 216804 (2003)10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.216804]. We consider edge states with neutral modes propagating at finite velocity, and we show that the activation of their dynamics causes the unexpected change in the temperature power law of the conductance. Even more importantly, we demonstrate that multiple-quasiparticle tunneling at low energies becomes the most relevant process. This result will be used to explain the experimental data on current noise where tunneling particles have a charge that can reach p times the single-quasiparticle charge. In this Letter, we analyze the conductance and the shot noise to substantiate quantitatively the proposed scenario.     

Shot noise in a quantum dot coupled to non-magnetic leads: effects of Coulomb interaction

We study electron transport through a quantum dot, connected to non-magnetic leads, in a magnetic field. A super-Poissonian electron noise due to the effects of both interacting localized states and dynamic channel blockade is found when the Coulomb blockade is partially lifted. This is sharp contrast to the sub-Poissonian shot noise found in the previous studies for a large bias voltage, where the Coulomb blockade is completely lifted. Moreover, we show that the super-Poissonian shot noise can be suppressed by applying an electron spin resonance (ESR) driving field. For a sufficiently strong ESR driving field strength, the super-Poissonian shot noise will change to be sub-Poissonian.     

Relaxation and dephasing of multiexcitons in semiconductor quantum dots

We measure the dephasing time of ground-state excitonic transitions in InGaAs quantum dots under electrical injection in the temperature range from 10 to 70 K. Electrical injection into the barrier region results in a pure dephasing of the excitonic transitions. Once the injected carriers fill the electronic ground state, the biexciton to exciton transition is probed and a correlation of the exciton and biexciton phonon scattering mechanisms is found. Additional filling of the excited states creates multiexcitons that show a fast dephasing due to population relaxation.     

Effect of dephasing on the current statistics of mesoscopic devices

We investigate the effects of dephasing on the current statistics of mesoscopic conductors with a recently developed statistical model, focusing, in particular, on mesoscopic cavities and Aharonov-Bohm rings. For such devices, we analyze the influence of an arbitrary degree of decoherence on the cumulants of the current. We recover known results for the limiting cases of fully coherent and totally incoherent transport and are able to obtain detailed information on the intermediate regime of partial coherence for a varying number of open channels. We show that dephasing affects the average current, shot noise, and higher order cumulants in a quantitatively and qualitatively similar way, and that consequently shot noise or higher order cumulants of the current do not provide information on decoherence additional or complementary to what can be already obtained from the average current.     

Decoherence in elastic and polaronic transport via discrete quantum states

In this work we study the effect of decoherence on elastic and polaronic transport via discrete quantum states. Calculations are performed with the help of a nonperturbative computational scheme, based on Green’s function theory within the framework of polaron transformation (GFT-PT), where the many-body electron-phonon interaction problem is mapped exactly into a single-electron multi-channel scattering problem. In particular, the influence of dephasing and relaxation processes on the shape of the electrical current and shot noise curves is discussed in detail under linear and nonlinear transport conditions.