arXiv subjects

J. von Delft

Publications and source records attributed to J. von Delft.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Kondo decoherence: finding the right spin model for iron impurities in gold and silver

We exploit the decoherence of electrons due to magnetic impurities, studied via weak localization, to resolve a longstanding question concerning the classic Kondo systems of Fe impurities in the noble metals gold and silver: which Kondo-type model yields a realistic description of the relevant multiple bands, spin and orbital degrees of freedom? Previous studies suggest a fully screened spin $S$ Kondo model, but the value of $S$ remained ambiguous. We perform density functional theory calculations that suggest $S = 3/2$. We also compare previous and new measurements of both the resistivity and decoherence rate in quasi 1-dimensional wires to numerical renormalization group predictions for $S=1/2,1$ and 3/2, finding excellent agreement for $S=3/2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Mesoscopic Spin-Boson Models of Trapped Ions

Trapped ions arranged in Coulomb crystals provide us with the elements to study the physics of a single spin coupled to a boson bath. In this work we show that optical forces allow us to realize a variety of spin-boson models, depending on the crystal geometry and the laser configuration. We study in detail the Ohmic case, which can be implemented by illuminating a single ion with a travelling wave. The mesoscopic character of the phonon bath in trapped ions induces new effects like the appearance of quantum revivals in the spin evolution.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Kondo quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic leads: Numerical renormalization group study

We systematically study the influence of ferromagnetic leads on the Kondo resonance in a quantum dot tuned to the local moment regime. We employ Wilson's numerical renormalization group method, extended to handle leads with a spin asymmetric density of states, to identify the effects of (i) a finite spin polarization in the leads (at the Fermi-surface), (ii) a Stoner splitting in the bands (governed by the band edges) and (iii) an arbitrary shape of the leads density of states. For a generic lead density of states the quantum dot favors being occupied by a particular spin-species due to exchange interaction with ferromagnetic leads leading to a suppression and splitting of the Kondo resonance. The application of a magnetic field can compensate this asymmetry restoring the Kondo effect. We study both the gate-voltage dependence (for a fixed band structure in the leads) and the spin polarization dependence (for fixed gate voltage) of this compensation field for various types of bands. Interestingly, we find that the full recovery of the Kondo resonance of a quantum dot in presence of leads with an energy dependent density of states is not only possible by an appropriately tuned external magnetic field but also via an appropriately tuned gate voltage. For flat bands simple formulas for the splitting of the local level as a function of the spin polarization and gate voltage are given.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Dynamical conductance in the two-channel Kondo regime of a double dot system

We study finite-frequency transport properties of the double-dot system recently constructed to observe the two-channel Kondo effect [R. M. Potok et al., Nature 446, 167 (2007)]. We derive an analytical expression for the frequency-dependent linear conductance of this device in the Kondo regime. We show how the features characteristic of the 2-channel Kondo quantum critical point emerge in this quantity, which we compute using the results of conformal field theory as well as numerical renormalization group methods. We determine the universal cross-over functions describing non-Fermi liquid vs. Fermi liquid cross-overs and also investigate the effects of a finite magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Mesoscopic to universal crossover of transmission phase of multi-level quantum dots

Transmission phase αmeasurements of many-electron quantum dots (small mean level spacing δ) revealed universal phase lapses by πbetween consecutive resonances. In contrast, for dots with only a few electrons (large δ), the appearance or not of a phase lapse depends on the dot parameters. We show that a model of a multi-level quantum dot with local Coulomb interactions and arbitrary level-lead couplings reproduces the generic features of the observed behavior. The universal behavior of αfor small δfollows from Fano-type antiresonances of the renormalized single-particle levels.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Phase lapses in transmission through interacting two-level quantum dots

We investigate the appearance of pi lapses in the transmission phase theta of a two-level quantum dot with Coulomb interaction U. Using the numerical and functional renormalization group methods we study the entire parameter space for spin-polarized as well as spin-degenerate dots, modeled by spinless or spinful electrons, respectively. We investigate the effect of finite temperatures T. For small T and sufficiently small single-particle spacings delta of the dot levels we find pi phase lapses between two transmission peaks in an overwhelming part of the parameter space of the level-lead couplings. For large delta the appearance or not of a phase lapse between resonances depends on the relative sign of the level-lead couplings in analogy to the U=0 case. We show that this generic scenario is the same for spin-polarized and spin-degenerate dots. We emphasize that in contrast to dots with more levels, for a two-level dot with small delta and generic dot-lead couplings (that is up to cases with special symmetry) the "universal" phase lapse behavior is already established at U=0. The most important effect of the Coulomb interaction is to increase the separation of the transmission resonances. The relation of the appearance of phase lapses to the inversion of the population of the dot levels is discussed. For the spin-polarized case and low temperatures we compare our results to recent mean-field studies. For small delta correlations are found to strongly alter the mean-field picture.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Comment on "Theoretical analysis of the transmission phase shift of a quantum dot in the presence of Kondo correlations"

Recently, A. Jerez, P. Vitushinsky and M. Lavagna [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 127203 (2005)] claimed that the transmission phase through a quantum fot, as measured via the Aharonov-Bohm interferometer, differs from the phase which determines the corresponding conductance. Here we show that this claim is wrong for the single level Anderson model, which is usually used to describe the quantum dot. So far, there exists no derivation of this claim from any explicit theoretical model.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Energy-resolved inelastic electron scattering off a magnetic impurity

We study inelastic scattering of energetic electrons off a Kondo impurity. If the energy E of the incoming electron (measured from the Fermi level) exceeds significantly the Kondo temperature T_K, then the differential inelastic cross-section σ(E,w), i.e., the cross-section characterizing scattering of an electron with a given energy transfer w, is well-defined. We show that σ(E,w) factorizes into two parts. The E-dependence of σ(E,w) is logarithmically weak and is due to the Kondo renormalization of the effective coupling. We are able to relate the w-dependence to the spin-spin correlation function of the magnetic impurity. Using this relation, we demonstrate that in the absence of magnetic field the dynamics of the impurity spin causes the electron scattering to be inelastic at any temperature. Quenching of the spin dynamics by an applied magnetic field results in a finite elastic component of the electron scattering cross-section. The differential scattering cross-section may be extracted from the measurements of relaxation of hot electrons injected in conductors containing localized spins.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Frequency-dependent transport through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime

We study the AC conductance and equilibrium current fluctuations of a Coulomb blockaded quantum dot. A relation between the equilibrium spectral function and the linear AC conductance is derived which is valid for frequencies well below the charging energy of the quantum dot. Frequency-dependent transport measurements can thus give experimental access to the Kondo peak in the equilibrium spectral function of a quantum dot. We illustrate this in detail for typical experimental parameters using the numerical renormalization group method in combination with the Kubo formalism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Absorption and Emission in quantum dots: Fermi surface effects of Anderson excitons

Recent experiments measuring the emission of exciton recombination in a self-organized single quantum dot (QD) have revealed that novel effects occur when the wetting layer surrounding the QD becomes filled with electrons, because the resulting Fermi sea can hybridize with the local electron levels on the dot. Motivated by these experiments, we study an extended Anderson model, which describes a local conduction band level coupled to a Fermi sea, but also includes a local valence band level. We are interested, in particular, on how many-body correlations resulting from the presence of the Fermi sea affect the absorption and emission spectra. Using Wilson's numerical renormalization group method, we calculate the zero-temperature absorption (emission) spectrum of a QD which starts from (ends up in) a strongly correlated Kondo ground state. We predict two features: Firstly, we find that the spectrum shows a power law divergence close to the threshold, with an exponent that can be understood by analogy to the well-known X-ray edge absorption problem. Secondly, the threshold energy $ω_0$ - below which no photon is absorbed (above which no photon is emitted) - shows a marked, monotonic shift as a function of the exciton binding energy $U_{\rm exc}$

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

One-dimensional density waves of ultracold bosons in an optical lattice

We investigate the propagation of density-wave packets in a Bose-Hubbard model using the adaptive time-dependent density-matrix renormalization group method. We discuss the decay of the amplitude with time and the dependence of the velocity on density, interaction strength and the height of the perturbation in a numerically exact way, covering arbitrary interactions and amplitudes of the perturbation. In addition, we investigate the effect of self-steepening due to the amplitude dependence of the velocity and discuss the possibilities for an experimental detection of the moving wave packet in time of flight pictures. By comparing the sound velocity to theoretical predictions, we determine the limits of a Gross-Pitaevskii or Bogoliubov type description and the regime where repulsive one-dimensional Bose gases exhibit fermionic behaviour.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Gate-controlled spin-splitting in quantum dots with ferromagnetic leads in the Kondo regime

The effect of a gate voltage ($V_g$) on the spin-splitting of an electronic level in a quantum dot (QD) attached to ferromagnetic leads is studied in the Kondo regime using a generalized numerical renormalization group technique. We find that the $V_g$-dependence of the QD level spin-splitting strongly depends on the shape of the density of states (DOS). For one class of DOS shapes there is nearly no $V_g$-dependence, for another, $V_g$ can be used to control the magnitude and sign of the spin-splitting, which can be interpreted as a local exchange magnetic field. We find that the spin-splitting acquires a new type of logarithmic divergence. We give an analytical explanation for our numerical results and explain how they arise due to spin-dependent charge fluctuations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Atomic quantum dots coupled to BEC reservoirs

We study the dynamics of an atomic quantum dot, i.e. a single atom in a tight optical trap which is coupled to a superfluid reservoir via laser transitions. Quantum interference between the collisional interactions and the laser induced coupling to the phase fluctuations of the condensate results in a tunable coupling of the dot to a dissipative phonon bath, allowing an essentially complete decoupling from the environment. Quantum dots embedded in a 1D Luttinger liquid of cold bosonic atoms realize a spin-Boson model with ohmic coupling, which exhibits a dissipative phase transition and allows to directly measure atomic Luttinger parameters.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Quantum phase transition in a two-channel-Kondo quantum dot device

We develop a theory of electron transport in a double quantum dot device recently proposed for the observation of the two-channel Kondo effect. Our theory provides a strategy for tuning the device to the non-Fermi-liquid fixed point, which is a quantum critical point in the space of device parameters. We explore the corresponding quantum phase transition, and make explicit predictions for behavior of the differential conductance in the vicinity of the quantum critical point.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Spatial correlations of trapped 1d bosons in an optical lattice

We investigate a quasi-one dimensional system of trapped cold bosonic atoms in an optical lattice by using the density matrix renormalization group to study the Bose-Hubbard model at T=0 for experimentally realistic numbers of lattice sites. It is shown that a properly rescaled one-particle density matrix characterizes superfluid versus insulating states just as in the homogeneous system. For typical parabolic traps we also confirm the widely used local density approach for describing correlations in the limit of weak interaction. Finally, we note that the superfluid to Mott-insulating transition is seen most directly in the half width of the interference peak.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

NRG study of the Kondo effect in the presence of itinerant-electron ferromagnetism

The Kondo effect in quantum dots (QDs) - artificial magnetic impurities - attached to ferromagnetic leads is studied with the numerical renormalization group (NRG) method. It is shown that the QD level is spin-split due to presence of ferromagnetic electrodes, leading to a suppression of the Kondo effect. We find that the Kondo effect can be restored by compensating this splitting with a magnetic field. Although the resulting Kondo resonance then has an unusual spin asymmetry with a reduced Kondo temperature, the ground state is still a locally-screened state, describable by Fermi liquid theory and a generalized Friedel sum rule, and transport in the unitary limit is not spin dependent.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Variational ansatz for the superfluid Mott-insulator transition in optical lattices

We develop a variational wave function for the ground state of a one-dimensional bosonic lattice gas. The variational theory is initally developed for the quantum rotor model and later on extended to the Bose-Hubbard model. This theory is compared with quasi-exact numerical results obtained by Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) studies and with results from other analytical approximations. Our approach accurately gives local properties for strong and weak interactions, and it also describes the crossover from the superfluid phase to the Mott-insulator phase.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2003

The spin-boson model with a structured environment: A comparison of approaches

In the spin-boson model, the properties of the oscillator bath are fully characterized by the spectral density of oscillators $J(ω)$. We study the case when this function is of Breit-Wigner shape and has a sharp peak at a frequency $Ω$ with width $Γ\llΩ$. We use a number of approaches such as the weak-coupling Bloch-Redfield equation, the non-interacting blip approximation (NIBA) and the flow-equation renormalization scheme. We show, that if $Ω$ is much larger than the qubit energy scales, the dynamics corresponds to an Ohmic spin-boson model with a strongly reduced tunnel splitting. We also show that the direction of the scaling of the tunnel splitting changes sign when the bare splitting crosses $Ω$. We find good agreement between our analytical approximations and numerical results. We illuminate how and why different approaches to the model account for these features and discuss the interpretation of this model in the context of an application to quantum computation and read-out.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗