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Interaction‐induced magnetic field asymmetry of nonlinear mesoscopic electrical transport
Author(s) -
Büttiker Markus,
Sánchez David
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international journal of quantum chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.484
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-461X
pISSN - 0020-7608
DOI - 10.1002/qua.20743
Subject(s) - asymmetry , mesoscopic physics , physics , condensed matter physics , magnetic field , coulomb , nonlinear system , conductance , quantum , conductor , quantum mechanics , quantum electrodynamics , electron , mathematics , geometry
Abstract We demonstrate that the nonlinear I–V characteristics of a two‐probe conductor are not an even function of a magnetic field. While the conductance of a two‐probe conductor is even in a magnetic field, we find that already the contributions to the current that are second order in voltage, are in general not even. This implies a departure from the Onsager microreversibility principle in the weakly nonlinear regime. Interestingly, the effect that we find is due to the Coulomb interaction. A measurement of magnetic field asymmetry can be used to determine the effective interaction strength. As a generic example, we discuss the I–V characteristics of a chaotic quantum dot. The ensemble averaged I–V of such a cavity is linear: nonlinearities are due to quantum interference. Consequently, phase‐breaking reduces the asymmetry. We support this statement with a calculation that treats inelastic scattering with the help of a voltage probe. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005