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.     

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.     

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.     

On the relation between white shot noise,Gaussian white noise,and the dichotomic Markov process

It is shown that the dichotomic Markov process converges to a white shot noise (interpreted according to the Stratonovich integration rule) in the joint limit in which the average duration of one of the states goes to zero and the value at this state goes to infinity. A further limit procedure allows us to obtain Gaussian white noise from white shot noise. These results are applied to the problem of noise-induced transitions. It is shown that white shot noise can give rise to transitions which do not occur for Gaussian white noise. The above results are finally generalized in introducing compound dichotomic Markov processes.     

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.     

Charge Transport Properties of the Majorana Zero Mode Induced Noncollinear Spin Selective Andreev Reflection

We study the charge transport properties of the spin-selective Andreev reflection(SSAR)effect between a spin polarized scanning tunneling microscope(STM)tip and a Majorana zero mode(MZM).Considering both the MZM and the excited states,we calculate the conductance and the shot noise power of the noncollinear SSAR using scattering theory.We find that the excited states give rise to inside peaks.Moreover,we numerically calculate the shot noise power and the Fano factor of the SSAR effect.Our calculation shows that the shot noise power and the Fano factor are related to the angle between the spin polarization direction of the STM tip and that of the MZM,which provide additional characteristics to detect the MZM via SSAR.     

Shot noise through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime

The shot noise in the current through a quantum dot is calculated as a function of voltage from the high-voltage Coulomb-blockaded regime to the low-voltage Kondo regime. Using several complementary approaches, it is shown that the zero-frequency shot noise (scaled by the voltage) exhibits a nonmonotonic dependence on voltage, with a peak around the Kondo temperature. Beyond giving a good estimate of the Kondo temperature, it is shown that the shot noise yields additional information on the effects of electronic correlations on the local density of states in the Kondo regime, unaccessible in traditional transport measurements.     

Noise dephasing in edge states of the integer quantum Hall regime

An electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer is used in the integer quantum Hall regime at a filling factor 2 to study the dephasing of the interferences. This is found to be induced by the electrical noise existing in the edge states capacitively coupled to each other. Electrical shot noise created in one channel leads to phase randomization in the other, which destroys the interference pattern. These findings are extended to the dephasing induced by thermal noise instead of shot noise: it explains the underlying mechanism responsible for the finite temperature coherence time tau_{phi}(T) of the edge states at filling factor 2, measured in a recent experiment. Finally, we present here a theory of the dephasing based on Gaussian noise, which is found to be in excellent agreement with our experimental results.     

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.     

Berry phase and shot noise for spin-polarized and entangled electrons

Shot noise for entangled and spin-polarized states in a four-probe geometric setup has been studied by adding two rotating magnetic fields in an incoming channel. Our results show that the noise power oscillates as the magnetic fields vary. The singlet, entangled triplet and polarized states can be distinguished by adjusting the magnetic fields. The Berry phase can be derived by measuring the shot noise power.     

Effects of interface bound states on the shot noise in normal metal–low-dimensional Rashba semiconductor tunnel junctions with induced s-wave pairing potential

We consider the effects of interface bound states on the electrical shot noise in tunnel junctions formed between normal metals and one-dimensional(1 D) or two-dimensional(2 D) Rashba semiconductors with proximity-induced s-wave pairing potential. We investigate how the shot noise properties vary as the interface bound state is evolved from a non-zero energy bound state to a zero-energy bound state. We show that in both 1 D and 2 D tunnel junctions, the ratio of the noise power to the charge current in the vicinity of zero bias voltage may be enhanced significantly due to the induction of the midgap interface bound state. But as the interface bound state evolves from a non-zero energy bound state to a zero-energy bound state, this ratio tends to vanish completely at zero bias voltage in 1 D tunnel junctions, while in 2 D tunnel junctions it decreases smoothly to the usual classical Schottky value for the normal state. Some other important aspects of the shot noise properties in such tunnel junctions are also clarified.     

Shot noise in the current of a surface acoustic-wave-driven single-electron pump

We have measured the noise at approximately 1.6 MHz in the current produced by a single-electron pump that uses an approximately 2.7 GHz surface acoustic wave (SAW). The current can be varied by altering the voltage applied to surface gates. Over the range of gate voltage where the current is close to the quantized value corresponding to one electron being transported per cycle of the SAW, the noise in the current is dominated by shot noise, whereas away from this range the noise mostly arises from switching the charge states of electron traps in the material. By combining measurements of the shot noise and the current, we determined how the error rates--the probabilities of transporting zero or two electrons in a cycle--vary with gate voltage when the current is close to the quantized value. The results obtained suggest that these two probabilities are controlled by closely linked mechanisms.     

AC shot noise through a vibrating quantum dot

In this paper we investigate the joint effects of the electron-phonon interaction and an external alternating (ac) gate voltage on the spectral density of shot noise through a vibrating quantum dot system, by applying the Lang-Firsov canonical transformation and the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function (NGF) technique. We find that the effects of the electron-phonon and electron-photon interaction on the differential shot noise are different. The main resonant peak of the differential shot noise is decreased only when a time-dependent gate voltage is imposed on quantum dot. With the ac field amplitude increasing, the main resonant peak of the differential shot noise decreases. The Fano factor of the system, which exhibits the deviation of shot noise from the Schottky formula, is also studied. Super-Poissonian shot noise appears due to the photon absorption (emission) processes in the low bias voltage region.     

Shot-noise detection in a carbon nanotube quantum dot

An on-chip detection scheme for high frequency signals is used to detect noise generated by a quantum dot formed in a single wall carbon nanotube. The noise detection is based on photon assisted tunneling in a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction. Measurements of shot noise over a full Coulomb diamond are reported with excited states and inelastic cotunneling clearly resolved. Super-Poissonian noise is detected in the case of inelastic cotunneling.     

Phase damping destroys quantum Fisher information of W states

We study the quantum Fisher information (QFI) of W states in the basic decoherence channels. We show that, as decoherence starts and increases, under i) depolarizing, QFI smoothly decays; ii) amplitude damping, QFI first exhibits a sudden drop to the shot noise level, then decreases to zero and finally increases back to the shot noise level; iii) phase damping, QFI is zero for all non-zero decoherence. We also find that on the contrary to GHZ states, QFI of W states in x and y directions are equal to each other and zero in z direction.     

Enhancement of the shot noise of a quantum dot–Luttinger lead system

We investigate the joint effects of the intralead electron interaction and Coulombic dot–lead interaction on the shot noise of a quantum dot coupled to Luttinger liquid leads. A formula of the shot noise is derived by applying the nonequilibrium Green function technique. The shot noise is enhanced by the dot–lead interaction. For a weak or moderately strong interaction the differential shot noise demonstrates resonant-like behavior as a function of bias and gate voltages. In the limit of strong interaction resonant behavior disappears and the differential shot noise and Fano factor scale as a power law in bias voltage. Under some parameters, the differential shot noise may become negative around resonant peaks, and the physical reason is analyzed.     

Observing Majorana bound states in p-wave superconductors using noise measurements in tunneling experiments

The zero-energy bound states at the edges or vortex cores of chiral p-wave superconductors should behave like Majorana fermions. We introduce a model Hamiltonian that describes the tunneling process when electrons are injected into such states. Using a nonequilibrium Green function formalism, we find exact analytic expressions for the tunneling current and noise and identify experimental signatures of the Majorana nature of the bound states to be found in the shot noise. We discuss the results in the context of different candidate materials that support triplet superconductivity. Experimental verification of the Majorana character of midgap states would have important implications for the prospects of topological quantum computation.     

Photon-assisted and spin-dependent shot noise in magnetic-field tunable ZnSe/Zn_(1-x)Mn_xSe structures

We have investigated the photon-assisted shot noise properties in the magnetic field tunable heterostructures. Transport properties of the model structure are strongly dependent on the oscillatory field and the magnetic field. In this structure,electrons can absorb or emit one or multi-photons to reach the quasi-bound state. As a result, the transmission properties are affected considerably by photon-assisted tunneling and these features cause the nontrivial variations in the shot noise and Fano factor. It is found that the shot noise becomes spin-dependent and can be modulated not only by the magnetic field, but also by the oscillatory field. Both the spin-up and spin-down components of the shot noise can be greatly suppressed by the magnetic field, and can also be drastically enhanced by the harmonically driven field. Furthermore,with increasing external magnetic field, it is important to note that the enhanced intensity is decreased, even suppressed.These results suggest another method to suppress the shot noise via modulating the oscillatory field at a diluted-magneticsemiconductors/semiconductor structure.     

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 Ferromagnetic Superconductor Tunnel Junctions

In this paper, the superconducting order parameter and the energy spectrum of the Bogoliubov excitations are obtained from the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) equation for a ferromagnetic superconductor (FS). Taking into account the rough interface scattering effect, we calculate the shot noise and the differential conductance of the normal-metal insulator ferromagnetic superconductor junction. It is shown that the exchange energy E_h in FS can lead to splitting of the differential shot noise peaks and the conductance peaks. The energy difference between the two splitting peaks is equal to 2E_h. The rough interface scattering strength results in descent of conductance peaks and the shot noise-to-current ratio but increases the shot noise.