arXiv · 0906.2654
Persistent currents in nanorings and quantum decoherence by Coulomb interaction
Abstract
Employing instanton technique we evaluate equilibrium persistent current (PC) produced by a quantum particle moving in a periodic potential on a ring and interacting with a dissipative environment formed by diffusive electron gas. The model allows for detailed non-perturbative analysis of interaction effects and -- depending on the system parameters -- yields a rich structure of different regimes. We demonstrate that at low temperatures PC is exponentially suppressed at sufficiently large ring perimeters $2πR> L_φ$ where the dephasing length $L_φ$ is set by interactions and does not depend on temperature. This behavior represents a clear example of quantum decoherence by electron-electron interactions at $T\to 0$.
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Andrew G. Semenov, Andrei D. Zaikin. 2009-10-13. Persistent currents in nanorings and quantum decoherence by Coulomb interaction. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.80.155312
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