Quantum pumping in helimagnet heterostructures

Spin-dependent diffraction occurs in helimagnet-related transport processes. In this work, we investigated quantum pumping properties in the normal-metal/helimagnet/normal-metal heterostructure driven by two out of phase time-dependent gate potentials. At the condition when one of the diffracted beams goes out of the horizon the pumped charge and spin currents demonstrate sharp dips and rises as a function of the helimagnet spiral wave vector q. At small and large q?s, the transmission and pumping properties approach the behaviors of a ferromagnet and an insulating barrier, respectively. For different helimagnet spiral periods, the diffracted angles are different. As a result, the pumped charge and spin currents demonstrate multiple maximal and minimal peaks as a function of q, hence, sensitively depend on the helimagnet spin configuration. All the pumping properties can be interpreted by the quantum gate-switching mechanisms.     

Spin and charge pumping in a quantum wire: the role of spin-flip scattering and Zeeman splitting

We investigate theoretically charge and spin pumps based on a linear configuration of quantum dots (quantum wire) which are disturbed by an external time-dependent perturbation. This perturbation forms an impulse which moves as a train pulse through the wire. It is found that the charge pumped through the system depends non-monotonically on the wire length, N. In the presence of the Zeeman splitting pure spin current flowing through the wire can be generated in the absence of charge current. Moreover, we observe electron pumping in a direction which does not coincide with the propagation direction of the pulse and the spin pumping direction (spin-charge separation). Additionally, on-site spin-flip processes significantly influence electron transport through the system and can also reverse the charge current direction.     

Quantum pump in a system with both Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings

We investigate the adiabatic quantum pump phenomena in a semiconductor with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings (SOCs). Although it is driven by applying spin-independent potentials, the system can pump out spin-dependent currents, i.e., generate nonzero charge and spin currents at the same time. The SOC can modulate both the magnitude and the direction of currents, exhibiting an oscillating behavior. Moreover, it is shown that the spin current has different sensitivities to two types of the SOC. These results provide an alternative method to adjust pumped current and might be helpful for designing spin pumping devices.     

Charge,spin and valley pumping in silicene junction

The feasibility of generating polarized and unpolarized current in silicene by means of quantum pumping is discussed within the framework of Floquet scattering matrix. Charge pumping current is induced at zero magnetization splitting whereas spin and valley pumping current emerge when the symmetry between Dirac points K and K′ is broken. The intensity and direction of pumped current are shown to be dependent on pumping amplitude, phase between barriers, exchange energy and electric field. By careful control of external parameters, it is demonstrated that the ferromagnetic-silicene junction could be operated as a pump device that generates pure spin and valley pumping current.     

Adiabatic quantum pumping at the Josephson frequency

We analyze theoretically adiabatic quantum pumping through a normal conductor that couples the normal regions of two superconductor - normal-metal - superconductor Josephson junctions. By using the phases of the superconducting order parameter in the superconducting contacts as pumping parameters, we demonstrate that a nonzero pumped charge can flow through the device. The device exploits the evolution of the superconducting phases due to the ac Josephson effect, and can therefore be operated at very high frequency, resulting in a pumped current as large as a few nanoamperes. The experimental relevance of our calculations is discussed.     

Dimerization,trimerization and quantum pumping

We study one-dimensional topological models with dimerization and trimerization and show that these models can be generated using interaction or optical superlattice. The topological properties of these models are demonstrated by the appearance of edge states and the mechanism of dimerization and trimerization is analyzed. Then we show that a quantum pumping process can be constructed based on each one-dimensional topological model. The quantum pumping process is explicitly demonstrated by the instantaneous energy spectrum and local current. The result shows that the pumping is assisted by the gapless states connecting the bands and one charge is pumped during a cycle, which also defines a nonzero Chern number. Our study systematically shows the connection of one-dimensional topological models and quantum pumping, and is useful for the experimental studies on topological phases in optical lattices and photonic quasicrystals.     

Quantum spin and charge pumping through double quantum dots with ferromagnetic leads

The pumping of electrons through double quantum dots (DQDs) attached to ferromagnetic leads have been theoretically investigated by using the nonequilibrium Green?s function method. It is found that an oscillating electric field applied to the quantum dot may give rise to the pumped charge and spin currents. In the case that both leads are ferromagnet, a pure spin current can be generated in the antiparallel magnetization configuration, where no net charge current exists. The possibility of manipulating the pumped spin current is explored by tuning the dot level and the ac field. By making use of various tunings, the magnitude and direction of the pumped spin current can be well controlled. For the case that only one lead is ferromagnetic, both of the charge and spin currents can be pumped and flow in opposite directions on the average. The control of the magnitude and direction of the pumped charge and spin currents is also discussed by means of the magnetic flux threading through the DQD ring.     

Adiabatic charge pumping in carbon nanotube quantum dots

We investigate charge pumping in carbon nanotube quantum dots driven by the electric field of a surface acoustic wave. We find that, at small driving amplitudes, the pumped current reverses polarity as the conductance is tuned through a Coulomb blockade peak using a gate electrode. We study the behavior as a function of wave amplitude, frequency, and direction and develop a model in which our results can be understood as resulting from adiabatic charge redistribution between the leads and quantum dots on the nanotube.     

Quantum pump in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with a quantum dot driven by an ac field

With the help of the nonequilibrium Green's function method, the quantum pump in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with a quantum dot driven by an ac field are studied theoretically. The ac field applied to the quantum dot may give rise to a pumped charge current at zero-bias voltage in the presence of a nonzero magnetic flux. The possibility of manipulating the pumped charge current is explored by tuning the dot level, the magnetic flux, the coupling strength and the ac field. By making use of various tunings, the magnitude and direction of the pumped charge current can be well controlled. Furthermore, the possibility to generate a pure spin current in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction has been discussed, which provides an idea for the design of a spin pump electrically.     

Geometric phase in Bohmian mechanics

Using the quantum kinematic approach of Mukunda and Simon, we propose a geometric phase in Bohmian mechanics. A reparametrization and gauge invariant geometric phase is derived along an arbitrary path in configuration space. The single valuedness of the wave function implies that the geometric phase along a path must be equal to an integer multiple of 2π. The nonzero geometric phase indicates that we go through the branch cut of the action function from one Riemann sheet to another when we locally travel along the path. For stationary states, quantum vortices exhibiting the quantized circulation integral can be regarded as a manifestation of the geometric phase. The bound-state Aharonov-Bohm effect demonstrates that the geometric phase along a closed path contains not only the circulation integral term but also an additional term associated with the magnetic flux. In addition, it is shown that the geometric phase proposed previously from the ensemble theory is not gauge invariant.     

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.     

A scattering matrix approach to quantum pumping: beyond the small-AC-driving-amplitude limit

In the adiabatic and weak-modulation quantum pump, net electron flow is driven from one reservoir to another by absorbing or emitting an energy quantum hω from or to the reservoirs. This paper considers high-order dependence of the scattering matrix on the time. Non-sinusoidal behaviour of strong pumping is revealed. The relation between the pumped current and the ac driving amplitude varies from power of 2, 1 to 1/2 when stronger modulation is exerted. Open experimental observation can be interpreted by multi-energy-quantum-related processes.     

Single-Parameter Quantum Pumping in Graphene Nanoribbons with Staggered Sublattice Potential

We present a theoretical study of quantum charge pumping in metallic armchair graphene nanoribbons using the Floquet-Green function method. A central part of the ribbon acting as the scattering region is supposed to have staggered sublattice potential to open a finite band gap. A single ac gate is asymmetrically applied to a part of the scattering region to drive the pumping. Corresponding to the gap edges, there are two pumped current peaks with opposite current directions, which can be reversed by changing the position of the ac gate relative to the scattering region. The effects of the parameters, such as the staggered sublattice potential, the driving frequency and the geometric parameters of the structure, on the pumping are discussed.     

Topological invariants for fractional quantum hall states

We calculate a topological invariant, whose value would coincide with the Chern number in the case of integer quantum Hall effect, for fractional quantum Hall states. In the case of Abelian fractional quantum Hall states, this invariant is shown to be equal to the trace of the K-matrix. In the case of non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall states, this invariant can be calculated on a case by case basis from the conformal field theory describing these states. This invariant can be used, for example, to distinguish between different fractional Hall states numerically even though, as a single number, it cannot uniquely label distinct states.     

Excitons in CdS and CdSe semiconducting quantum wires with dielectric barriers

Features of the photoluminescence spectra observed for various polarizations and intensities of the pumping radiation and the kinetics of photoluminescence of the CdS and CdSe nanocrystals grown in hollow nanochannels of an Al₂O₃ matrix are explained in terms of exciton transitions in semiconducting quantum wires with dielectric barriers. The observed exciton transition energies coincide with the values calculated with an allowance for the effects of quantum confinement and the “dielectric enhancement” of excitons. The latter effect is manifested by a significant increase in the Coulomb attraction between electrons and holes (the exciton binding energy exceeds 100 meV) due to a difference between the permittivities of semiconductor and insulator. It is shown that the exciton transition energy remains constant when the quantum wire diameter varies within broad limits. This is related to the fact that a growth in the one-dimensional bandgap width of the quantum wire caused by a decrease in the diameter is compensated by an increase in the exciton binding energy.     

Probabilistic quantum cloning of real states

We construct the explicit formulation of the probabilistically perfect quantum cloning machine that perfectly duplicates the input states chosen from the special set consisting of the linearly independent and nonorthogonal quantum states with 〈φ_i ∣φ_j〉 = r ∈ (0, 1)(i ≠ j). The success probabilities of cloning the input states are equal and maximal. As two examples, we present the explicit transformations of the optimal 1 → 2 probabilistically perfect quantum cloning of the real states in 2 and 3 dimensions. The success probabilities of each of two cloning machines are equal and maximal.     

Magnetopumping current in graphene Corbino pump

We study conductance and adiabatic pumped charge and spin currents in a graphene quantum pump with Corbino geometry in the presence of an applied perpendicular magnetic field. Pump is driven by the periodic and out of phase modulations of the magnetic field and an electrostatic potential applied to the ring area of the pump. We show that Zeeman splitting, despite its smallness, suppresses conductance and pumped current oscillations at zero doping. Moreover, quite considerable spin conductance and pumped spin current are generated at low dopings due to Zeeman splitting. We find that pumped charge and spin currents increase by increasing the magnetic field, with small oscillations, until they are suppressed due to the effect of nonzero doping and Zeeman splitting.     

Cyclic shape invariant potentials

Using supersymmetric quantum mechanics, we formulate the coupled non-linear differential equations which give cyclic shape invariant potentials, with eigenvalues consisting of p infinite sets of equally spaced energy levels, shifted with respect to each other. We study potentials in which the energy spacings are chosen using the logistic map and the bifurcation route to chaos.