arXiv subjects

R. Egger

Publications and source records attributed to R. Egger.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Features due to spin-orbit coupling in the optical conductivity of single-layer graphene

We have calculated the optical conductivity of a disorder-free single graphene sheet in the presence of spin-orbit coupling, using the Kubo formalism. Both intrinsic and structural-inversion-asymmetry induced types of spin splitting are considered within a low-energy continuum theory. Analytical results are obtained that allow us to identify distinct features arising from spin-orbit couplings. We point out how optical-conductivity measurements could offer a way to determine the strengths of spin splitting due to various origins in graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Anomalous Josephson current through a spin-orbit coupled quantum dot

For a general model of a mesoscopic multi-level quantum dot, we determine the necessary conditions for the existence of an anomalous Josephson current with spontaneously broken time-reversal symmetry. They correspond to a finite spin-orbit coupling, a suitably oriented Zeeman field, and the dot being a chiral conductor. We provide analytical expressions for the anomalous supercurrent covering a wide parameter regime.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Spin transport and bipolaron density in organic polymers

We present a theory for spin-polarized transport through a generic organic polymer connected to ferromagnetic leads with arbitrary angle theta between their magnetization directions, taking into account the polaron and bipolaron states as effective charge and spin carriers. Within a diffusive description of polaron-bipolaron transport including polaron-bipolaron conversion, we find that the bipolaron density depends on the angle theta. This is remarkable, given the fact that bipolarons are spinless quasiparticles, and opens a new way to probe spin accumulation in organic polymers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Phonon-phonon interactions and phonon damping in carbon nanotubes

We formulate and study the effective low-energy quantum theory of interacting long-wavelength acoustic phonons in carbon nanotubes within the framework of continuum elasticity theory. A general and analytical derivation of all three- and four-phonon processes is provided, and the relevant coupling constants are determined in terms of few elastic coefficients. Due to the low dimensionality and the parabolic dispersion, the finite-temperature density of noninteracting flexural phonons diverges, and a nonperturbative approach to their interactions is necessary. Within a mean-field description, we find that a dynamical gap opens. In practice, this gap is thermally smeared, but still has important consequences. Using our theory, we compute the decay rates of acoustic phonons due to phonon-phonon and electron-phonon interactions, implying upper bounds for their quality factor.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Electron-electron interaction effects in quantum point contacts

We consider electron-electron interaction effects in quantum point contacts on the first quantization plateau, taking into account all scattering processes. We compute the low-temperature linear and nonlinear conductance, shot noise, and thermopower, by perturbation theory and a self-consistent nonperturbative method. On the conductance plateau, the low-temperature corrections are solely due to momentum-nonconserving processes that change the relative number of left- and right-moving electrons. This leads to a suppression of the conductance for increasing temperature or voltage. The size of the suppression is estimated for a realistic saddle-point potential, and is largest in the beginning of the conductance plateau. For large magnetic field, interaction effects are strongly suppressed by the Pauli principle, and hence the first spin-split conductance plateau has a much weaker interaction correction. For the nonperturbative calculations, we use a self-consistent nonequilibrium Green's function approach, which suggests that the conductance saturates at elevated temperatures. These results are consistent with many experimental observations related to the so-called 0.7 anomaly.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Josephson-current induced conformational switching of a molecular quantum dot

We discuss the behavior of a two-level system coupled to a quantum dot contacted by superconducting source/drain electrodes, representing a simple model for the conformational degree of freedom of a molecular dot or a break junction. The Josephson current is shown to induce conformational changes, including a complete reversal. For small bias voltage, periodic conformational motions induced by Landau-Zener transitions between Andreev states are predicted.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid parameters of magnetic waveguides in graphene

Electronic waveguides in graphene formed by counterpropagating snake states in suitable inhomogeneous magnetic fields are shown to constitute a realization of a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. Due to the spatial separation of the right- and left-moving snake states, this non-Fermi liquid state induced by electron-electron interactions is essentially unaffected by disorder. We calculate the interaction parameters accounting for the absence of Galilei invariance in this system, and thereby demonstrate that non-Fermi liquid effects are significant and tunable in realistic geometries.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Ultracold bosons in lattices with binary disorder

Quantum phases of ultracold bosons with repulsive interactions in lattices in the presence of quenched disorder are investigated. The disorder is assumed to be caused by the interaction of the bosons with impurity atoms having a large effective mass. The system is described by the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian with random on-site energies which have a discrete binary probability distribution. The phase diagram at zero temperature is calculated using several methods like a strong-coupling expansion, an exact numerical diagonalization, and a Bose-Fermi mapping valid in the hard-core limit. It is shown that the Mott-insulator phase exists for any strength of disorder in contrast to the case of continuous probability distribution. We find that the compressibility of the Bose glass phase varies in a wide range and can be extremely low. Furthermore, we evaluate experimentally accessible quantities like the momentum distribution, the static and dynamic structure factors, and the density of excited states. The influence of finite temperature is discussed as well.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2008

Interaction-induced harmonic frequency mixing in quantum dots

We show that harmonic frequency mixing in quantum dots coupled to two leads under the influence of time-dependent voltages of different frequency is dominated by interaction effects. This offers a unique and direct spectroscopic tool to access correlations, and holds promise for efficient frequency mixing in nano-devices. Explicit results are provided for an Anderson dot and for a molecular level with phonon-mediated interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Iterative real-time path integral approach to nonequilibrium quantum transport

We have developed a numerical approach to compute real-time path integral expressions for quantum transport problems out of equilibrium. The scheme is based on a deterministic iterative summation of the path integral (ISPI) for the generating function of the nonequilibrium current. Self-energies due to the leads, being non-local in time, are fully taken into account within a finite memory time, thereby including non-Markovian effects, and numerical results are extrapolated both to vanishing (Trotter) time discretization and to infinite memory time. This extrapolation scheme converges except at very low temperatures, and the results are then numerically exact. The method is applied to nonequilibrium transport through an Anderson dot.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Superconducting non-equilibrium transport through a weakly interacting quantum dot

We study the out-of-equilibrium current through an interacting quantum dot modelled as an Anderson impurity contacted by two BCS superconductors held at fixed voltage bias. In order to account for multiple Andreev reflections, we develop a Keldysh Green's function scheme perturbative in the dot's interaction strength. We find an unexpected enhancement of the current due to repulsive interactions for small lead-to-dot couplings.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Vibration-induced correction to the current through a single molecule

We provide analytical results for the perturbative correction to the current-voltage relation through a vibrating molecule for weak electron-phonon coupling. The nonlinear conductance exhibits a step-like feature at $eV=\hbar ω_0$, where $ω_0$ is the vibration frequency. We establish criteria for the sign change of the step in the conductance (up or down). This transition turns out to be nonuniversal and is governed by essentially all system parameters.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Conductance quantization and snake states in graphene magnetic waveguides

We consider electron waveguides (quantum wires) in graphene created by suitable inhomogeneous magnetic fields. The properties of uni-directional snake states are discussed. For a certain magnetic field profile, two spatially separated counter-propagating snake states are formed, leading to conductance quantization insensitive to backscattering by impurities or irregularities of the magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Current-induced non-adiabatic spin torques and domain wall motion with spin relaxation in a ferromagnetic metallic wire

Within the s-d model description, we derive the current-driven spin torque in a ferromagnet, taking explicitly into account a spin-relaxing Caldeira-Leggett bath coupling to the s-electrons. We derive Bloch-Redfield equations of motion for the s-electron spin dynamics, and formulate a systematic gradient expansion to obtain non-adiabatic (higher-order) corrections to the well-known adiabatic (first-order) spin torque. We provide simple analytical expressions for the second-order spin torque. The theory is applied to current-driven domain wall motion. Second-order contributions imply a deformation of a transverse tail-to-tail domain wall. The wall center still moves with a constant velocity that now depends on the spin-polarized current in a non-trivial manner.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Magnetic confinement of massless Dirac fermions in graphene

Due to Klein tunneling, electrostatic potentials are unable to confine Dirac electrons. We show that it is possible to confine massless Dirac fermions in a monolayer graphene sheet by inhomogeneous magnetic fields. This allows one to design mesoscopic structures in graphene by magnetic barriers, e.g. quantum dots or quantum point contacts.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Josephson current through a quantum dot with spin-orbit coupling

The equilibrium Josephson current through a nanoscale multi-level quantum dot with Rashba or Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling $α$ has been computed. The critical current can be drastically modified already by moderate $α$. In the presence of a Zeeman field, Datta-Das-like oscillatory dependencies on $α$ are predicted.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Charge qubit entanglement in double quantum dots

We study entanglement of charge qubits in a vertical tunnel-coupled double quantum dot containing two interacting electrons. Exact diagonalization is used to compute the negativity characterizing entanglement. We find that entanglement can be efficiently generated and controlled by sidegate voltages, and describe how it can be detected. For large enough tunnel coupling, the negativity shows a pronounced maximum at an intermediate interaction strength within the Wigner molecule regime.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids and Coulomb blockade in multiwall carbon nanotubes under pressure

We report that the conductance of macroscopic multiwall nanotube (MWNT) bundles under pressure shows power laws in temperature and voltage, as corresponding to a network of bulk-bulk connected Tomonaga-Luttinger Liquids (LL). Contrary to individual MWNT, where the observed power laws are attributed to Coulomb blockade, the measured ratio for the end and bulk obtained exponents, ~2.4, can only be accounted for by LL theory. At temperatures characteristic of interband separation, it increases due to thermal population of the conducting sheets unoccupied bands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗