arXiv · 1203.1927
Conduction of Ultracold Fermions Through a Mesoscopic Channel
Abstract
In a mesoscopic conductor electric resistance is detected even if the device is defect-free. We engineer and study a cold-atom analog of a mesoscopic conductor. It consists of a narrow channel connecting two macroscopic reservoirs of fermions that can be switched from ballistic to diffusive. We induce a current through the channel and find ohmic conduction, even for a ballistic channel. An analysis of in-situ density distributions shows that in the ballistic case the chemical potential drop occurs at the entrance and exit of the channel, revealing the presence of contact resistance. In contrast, a diffusive channel with disorder displays a chemical potential drop spread over the whole channel. Our approach opens the way towards quantum simulation of mesoscopic devices with quantum gases.
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Jean-Philippe Brantut, Jakob Meineke, David Stadler, Sebastian Krinner, Tilman Esslinger. 2012-04-10. Conduction of Ultracold Fermions Through a Mesoscopic Channel. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1223175
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