Electron-spin and electron-orbital dependence of the tunnel coupling in laterally coupled double vertical dots

We employ a new laterally coupled, vertical double dot with a tunable tunnel-coupling gate in a parallel configuration to study the electron spin and orbital dependence of quantum mechanical tunnel coupling on the size of the honeycomb vertices in the small electron numbers regime. We find a transition from the weak coupling regime, where fluctuations in tunnel coupling due to varying electron configuration dominate the anticrossings, to a regime where the two dots coalesce. We apply a magnetic field to ascertain the orbital angular momenta of the Fermi surface eigenstates, which correlate with anticrossing size, and we identify spin pairs with congruent behavior.     

The effect of confinement on the electron thermal conductance of a nanocrystal

Coulomb blockade oscillations are found in the electron thermal conductance of a quantum dot (nanocrystal) in the regime of weak coupling with two electrode leads that is calculated within a linear response theory. An analytical expression is obtained in the quantum limit where electron level spacing is non-negligible. The effect of confinement on the electron thermal conductance is thereby explicitly shown. It is shown that in the quantum limit the periodicity of the Coulomb-blockade oscillations of the electron thermal conductance is the same as of the conductance. The shape and the magnitude of the electron thermal conductance depend explicitly on the temperature and the energy level spacing. It is found that the electron thermal conductance decreases nearly exponentially with increasing confinement and decreasing temperature.     

Spin-dependent thermoelectric effect in polaronic Kondo transport through a Rashba quantum dot coupled with ferromagnetic leads

We investigate the spin-dependent thermoelectric effect of a Rashba molecular quantum dot coupled with both ferromagnetic leads and a phonon bath in the Kondo regime. A transport formula is derived to deal with the strong electron–electron and electron–phonon interaction with the spin–orbit coupling of arbitrary intensity simultaneously. The numerical results show that only strengthening the electron–phonon coupling can improve the charge thermopower, while even very small spin–orbit coupling can suppress both the thermocharge figure of merit and the thermospin one at the Kondo temperature greatly. It is also found that the electron–phonon coupling in conjunction with the spin–orbit coupling can rebuild Fermi liquid state in the Kondo regime.     

Measurement of cavity polariton dispersion curve

We study the photoluminescence of quantum well excitons imbedded in monolithic microcavities. In the strong coupling regime, a coupled-mode situation develops, the cavity-polariton. We describe a model of the photoluminescence phenomenon in this regime, which by comparison with experiments enables us to determine the cavity-polariton dispersion curve. An excellent agreement with our theoretical model is found.     

Quantum Hall ferrimagnetism in lateral quantum dot molecules

We demonstrate the existence of ferrimagnetic and ferromagnetic phases in a spin phase diagram of coupled lateral quantum dot molecules in the quantum Hall regime. The spin phase diagram is determined from the Hartree-Fock configuration interaction method as a function of electron number N and magnetic field B. The quantum Hall ferrimagnetic phase corresponds to spatially imbalanced spin droplets resulting from strong interdot coupling of identical dots. The quantum Hall ferromagnetic phases correspond to ferromagnetic coupling of spin polarization at filling factors between nu=2 and nu=1.     

Direct measurement of the spin-orbit interaction in a two-electron InAs nanowire quantum dot

We demonstrate control of the electron number down to the last electron in tunable few-electron quantum dots defined in catalytically grown InAs nanowires. Using low temperature transport spectroscopy in the Coulomb blockade regime, we propose a method to directly determine the magnitude of the spin-orbit interaction in a two-electron artificial atom with strong spin-orbit coupling. Because of a large effective g factor |g(*)|=8+/-1, the transition from a singlet S to a triplet T+ ground state with increasing magnetic field is dominated by the Zeeman energy rather than by orbital effects. We find that the spin-orbit coupling mixes the T+ and S states and thus induces an avoided crossing with magnitude Delta(SO)=0.25+/-0.05 meV. This allows us to calculate the spin-orbit length lambda(SO) approximately 127 nm in such systems using a simple model.     

Magnetic long-range order induced by quantum relaxation in single-molecule magnets

Can magnetic interactions between single-molecule magnets (SMMs) in a crystal establish long-range magnetic order at low temperatures deep in the quantum regime, where the only electron spin fluctuations are due to incoherent magnetic quantum tunneling (MQT)? Put inversely: can MQT provide the temperature dependent fluctuations needed to destroy the ordered state above some finite T(c), although it should basically itself be a T-independent process? Our experiments on two novel Mn4 SMMs provide a positive answer to the above, showing at the same time that MQT in the SMMs has to involve spin-lattice coupling at a relaxation rate equaling that predicted and observed recently for nuclear-spin-mediated quantum relaxation.     

电子转移速率理论研究：运动谱窄化所导致的非马尔可夫电子转移过程

严格的速率方程理论得到的总是非马尔可夫的，可是大部分实验都可以用马尔可夫的、即传统的速率常数基础上的反应动力学方程来描述．针对这一问题研究了电子转移过程中的马尔可夫/非马尔可夫特性．以最简单的两态电子转移反应为体系，以其在德拜溶剂中的严格动力学解为标定，采用光谱领域著名的Kubo运动谱窄化线型函数及其特性参数来描述电子转移过程中的马尔可夫/非马尔可夫本质．该马尔可夫特性参数是相干转移耦合与溶剂环境涨落相互影响共同作用的结果，以它为基础说明了大部分实验确实可以通过传统的速率方程来描述，而非马尔可夫速率过程最     

Adiabatic charge and spin pumping through interacting quantum dots

In this paper we investigate adiabatic charge and spin pumping through interacting quantum dots using non-equilibrium Green's function techniques and the equation-of-motion method. We treat the electronic correlations inside the dot using a Hartree-Fock approximation and succeed in obtaining closed analytic expressions for the Keldysh Green's functions. These allow us to compute charge and spin currents through the quantum dot. Depending on the parameters of the quantum dot and its coupling to the reservoirs, we show that it can be found in two different regimes: the magnetic regime and the non-magnetic regime. In the magnetic regime we find a non-vanishing spin current in addition to the charge current present in both cases.     

Cotunneling current and shot noise in quantum dots

We derive general expressions for the current and the shot noise, taking into account non-Markovian memory effects. In generalization of previous approaches, our theory is valid for an arbitrary Coulomb interaction and coupling strength and is applicable to quantum dots and more complex systems such as molecules. A fully consistent diagrammatic expansion up to second order in the coupling strength, taking into account cotunneling processes, allows for a study of transport in an intermediate coupling strength regime relevant to many current experiments. We discuss a single-level quantum dot as a first example, focusing on the Coulomb-blockade regime where the cotunneling processes dominate. We find super-Poissonian shot noise due to inelastic spin-flip cotunneling processes at an energy scale different from the one expected from first-order calculations.     

Kondo effect of a quantum dot coupling indirectly to the conduction electrons

When a quantum dot in the Kondo regime couples to two leads (the conduction electron reservoirs) indirectly through intermediate electron levels, two features are noteworthy concerning the Kondo effect. First, the Kondo peak in the spectrum of local density of states becomes narrower as the coupling to the leads is much larger than the interdot coupling, which is just opposite to the case of direct dot-lead coupling. Secondly, the increment of the coupling to the leads and the deviation of the intermediate levels from the Fermi level can effectively facilitate the formation of the negative differential conductance.     

Strong Coupling Optomechanics Mediated by a Qubit in the Dispersive Regime

Cavity optomechanics represents a flexible platform for the implementation of quantum technologies, useful in particular for the realization of quantum interfaces, quantum sensors and quantum information processing. However, the dispersive, radiation–pressure interaction between the mechanical and the electromagnetic modes is typically very weak, harnessing up to now the demonstration of interesting nonlinear dynamics and quantum control at the single photon level. It has already been shown both theoretically and experimentally that if the interaction is mediated by a Josephson circuit, one can have an effective dynamics corresponding to a huge enhancement of the single-photon optomechanical coupling. Here we analyze in detail this phenomenon in the general case when the cavity mode and the mechanical mode interact via an off-resonant qubit. Using a Schrieffer–Wolff approximation treatment, we determine the regime where this tripartite hybrid system behaves as an effective cavity optomechanical system in the strong coupling regime.     

Optical control of spin-dependent thermal transport in a quantum ring

We report on calculation of spin-dependent thermal transport through a quantum ring with the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The quantum ring is connected to two electron reservoirs with different temperatures. Tuning the Rashba coupling constant, degenerate energy states are formed leading to a suppression of the heat and thermoelectric currents. In addition, the quantum ring is coupled to a photon cavity with a single photon mode and linearly polarized photon field. In a resonance regime, when the photon energy is approximately equal to the energy spacing between two lowest degenerate states of the ring, the polarized photon field can significantly control the heat and thermoelectric currents in the system. The roles of the number of photon initially in the cavity, and electron–photon coupling strength on spin-dependent heat and thermoelectric currents are presented.     

Ferromagnetism and electron-phonon coupling in the manganites

The physics of ferromagnetic doped manganites, such as La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 with x ≈ 0.2-0.4, is reviewed. The concept of double exchange is discussed within the general framework of itinerant electron magnetism. The new feature in this context is the coupling of electrons to local phonon modes. Emphasis is placed on the quantum nature of the phonons and the link with polaron physics. However it is stressed that the manganites fall into an intermediate coupling regime where standard small-polaron theory does not apply. The recently-developed many-body coherent potential approximation is able to deal with this situation and Green's recent application to the Holstein double-exchange model is described. Issues addressed include the nature of the basic electronic structure, the metal-insulator transition, a unification of colossal magnetoresistance, pressure effects and the isotope effect, pseudogaps in spectroscopy and the effect of electron-phonon coupling on spin waves.     

Photonic realization of the quantum Rabi model

We realize a photonic analog simulator of the quantum Rabi model, based on light transport in femtosecond-laser-written waveguide superlattices, which provides an experimentally accessible test bed to explore the physics of light-matter interaction in the deep strong coupling regime. Our optical setting enables us to visualize dynamical regimes not yet accessible in cavity or circuit quantum electrodynamics, such as the bouncing of photon number wave packets in parity chains of Hilbert space.     

Intersublevel transitions in self-assembled quantum dots

Intersublevel transitions in semiconductor quantum dots are transitions of a charge carrier between quantum dot confined states. In InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots, optically active intersublevel transitions occur in the mid-infrared spectral range. These transitions can provide a new insight on the physics of semiconductor quantum dots and offer new opportunities to develop mid-infrared devices. A key feature characterizing intersublevel transitions is the coupling of the confined carriers to phonons. We show that the effect of the strong coupling regime for the electron–optical phonon interaction and the formation of mixed electron–phonon quasi-particles called polarons drastically affect and control the dynamical properties of quantum dots. The engineering of quantum dot relaxation rates through phonon coupling opens the route to the realization of new devices like mid-infrared polaron lasers. We finally show that the measurement of intersublevel absorption is not limited to quantum dot ensembles and that the intersublevel ultrasmall absorption of a single quantum dot can be measured with a nanometer scale resolution by using phonon emission as a signature of the absorption. To cite this article: P. Boucaud et al., C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Transport properties of quantum dots

Linear and nonlinear transport through a quantum dot that is weakly coupled to ideal quantum leads is investigated in the parameter regime where charging and geometrical quantization effects coexist. The exact eigenstates and spins of a finite number of correlated electrons confined within the dot are combined with a rate equation. The current is calculated in the regime of sequential tunneling. The analytic solution for an Anderson impurity is given. The phenomenological charging model is compared with the quantum mechanical model for interacting electrons. The current-voltage characteristics show Coulomb blockade. The excited states lead to additional fine-structure in the current voltage characteristics. Asymmetry in the coupling between the quantum dot and the leads causes asymmetry in the conductance peaks which is reversed with the bias voltage. The spin selection rules can cause a ‘spin blockade’ which decreases the current when certain excited states become involved in the transport. In two-dimensional dots, peaks in the linear conductance can be suppressed at low temperatures, when the total spins of the corresponding ground states differ by more than 1/2. In a magnetic field, an electron number parity effect due to the different spins of the many-electron ground states is predicted in addition to the vanishing of the spin blockade effect. All of the predicted features are consistent with recent experiments.     

Dynamic nuclear polarization and nuclear magnetic resonance in the vicinity of edge states of a 2DES in GaAs quantum wells

Nuclear magnetic resonance is detected via the in-plane conductivity of a two-dimensional electron system at unity Landau level filling factor in the regime of the quantum Hall effect in narrow and wide quantum wells. The NMR is spatially selective to nuclei with a coupling to electrons in the current carrying edge states at the perimeter of the 2DES. Interpretation of the electron-nuclear double resonance signals is facilitated by numerical simulations. A new RF swept method for conductivity-detected NMR is introduced which offers more efficient signal averaging. The method is applied to the study of electric quadrupole interactions, weakly allowed overtone transitions, and evaluation of the extent of electron wave function delocalization in the wide quantum well.     

Effect of structure anisotropy on low temperature spin dynamics in quantum wells

Spin dynamics of two-dimensional electron gas confined in an asymmetrical quantum well is studied theoretically in the regime where the scattering frequency is comparable with the spin precession frequency due to the conduction band spin splitting. The spin polarization is shown to demonstrate quantum beats. If the spin splitting is determined by both bulk and structural asymmetry mechanisms the beats are damped at zero temperature even in the absence of a scattering. We calculate the decay of spin beats due to the thermal broadening of the electron distribution function and electron scattering. The magnetic field applied along the structure growth axis is shown to increase the frequency of the beats and shift system towards the collision dominated regime.     

Exact Solutions to the Quantum Rabi-Stark Model Within Tunable Coherent States

The quantum Rabi-Stark model, where the linear dipole coupling and the nonlinear Stark-like coupling is present on an equal footing, is studied within the tunable extended coherent states. The eigenvalues and eigenstates are therefore obtained exactly. Surprisingly, the entanglement entropy in the ground-state is found to jump suddenly with the coupling strength. The first-order quantum phase transition can be detected by level crossing of the ground state and the first excited state, which is however lacking in the original linear quantum Rabi model. Performing the first-order approximation in the present theory, we can derive closed-form analytical results for the ground-state. Interestingly, it agrees well with the exact solutions up to the ultra-strong coupling regime in a wide range of model parameters. The spectral collapses when the absolute value of the nonlinear coupling strength approaches to twice the cavity frequency is observed with the help of new solutions in the limits.