arXiv subjects

Y. Imry

Publications and source records attributed to Y. Imry.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2015

Enhanced performance of joint cooling and energy production

The efficiencies/coefficients of performance of three-terminal devices, comprising two electronic terminals and a thermal one (e.g., a boson bath) are discussed. In particular, two procedures are analyzed. (a) One of the electronic terminals is cooled by investing thermal power (from the thermal bath) and electric power (from voltage applied across the electronic junction); (b) The invested thermal power from the boson bath is exploited to cool one electronic terminal and to produce electric power. Rather surprisingly, the coefficient of performance of (b) can be enhanced as compared to that of (a).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Renormalization of competing interactions and superconductivity on small scales

The interaction-induced orbital magnetic response of a nanoscale ring is evaluated for a diffusive system which is a superconductor in the bulk. The interplay of the renormalized Coulomb and Fröhlich interactions is crucial. The magnetic susceptibility which results from the fluctuations of the uniform superconducting order parameter is diamagnetic (paramagnetic) when the renormalized combined interaction is attractive (repulsive). Above the transition temperature of the bulk the total magnetic susceptibility has contributions from many wave-vector- and (Matsubara) frequency-dependent order parameter fluctuations. Each of these contributions results from a different renormalization of the relevant coupling energy, when one integrates out the fermionic degrees of freedom. The total diamagnetic response of the large superconductor may become paramagnetic when the system's size decreases.

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arXiv2013

Cooling by heating in a mesoscopic two-state device

We reanalyse the work of Cleuren et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 248902 (2012), in the light of Jiang et al. Phys. Rev. B 85, 075412 (2012). The condition for cooling enforces its rate to be exponentially small at low temperatures. Thus, the difficulty with the "dynamic version of the third law" found by Levy et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 248901 (2012) and Allahverdyan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 248903 (2012) is resolved.

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arXiv2013

Efficiency and dissipation in a two-terminal thermoelectric junction, emphasizing small dissipation

The efficiency and cooling power of a two-terminal thermoelectric refrigerator are analyzed near the limit of vanishing dissipation (ideal system), where the optimal efficiency is the Carnot one, but the cooling power then unfortunately vanishes. This limit, where transport occurs only via a single sharp electronic energy, has been referred to as "strong coupling" or "the best thermoelectric". It follows however, that "parasitic" effects that make the system deviate from the ideal limit, and reduce the efficiency from the Carnot limit, are crucial for the usefulness of the device. Among these parasitics, there are: parallel phonon conduction, finite width of the electrons' transport band and more than a single energy transport channel. In terms of a small parameter characterizing the deviation from the ideal limit, the efficiency and power grow linearly, and the dissipation {\em quadratically}. The results are generalized to the case of broken time-reversal symmetry, and the major nontrivial changes are discussed. Finally, the recent universal relation between the thermopower and the asymmetry of the dissipation between the two terminals is briefly discussed, including the small dissipation limit.

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arXiv2013

Mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm Interferometers:Decoherence and Thermoelectric Transport

Two important features of mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm (A-B) electronic interferometers are analyzed: decoherence due to coupling with other degrees of freedom and the coupled transport of charge and heat. We first review the principles of decoherence of electronic interference. We then analyze the thermoelectric transport in a ring threaded by such a flux, with a molecular bridge on one of its arms. The charge carriers may also interact inelastically with the molecular vibrations. This nano-system is connected to three termi- nals; two of them are electric and thermal, held at slightly different chemical potentials and temperatures, and the third is purely thermal. For example, a phonon bath thermalizing the molecular vibrations. When this third terminal is held at a temperature different from those of the electronic reservoirs, both an electrical and a heat current are, in general, gen- erated between the latter. Likewise, a voltage and/or temperature difference between the electronic terminals leads to thermal current between the thermal and electronic terminals. The transport coefficients governing these conversions (due to energy exchange between the electrons and the vibrations) and their dependences on the A-B flux are analyzed. Finally, the decoherence due to these inelastic events is discussed.

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arXiv2013

Scale-dependent competing interactions: sign reversal of the average persistent current

The interaction-induced orbital magnetic response of a nanoscale system, modeled by the persistent current in a ring geometry, is evaluated for a system which is a superconductor in the bulk. The interplay of the renormalized Coulomb and Fröhlich interactions is crucial. The diamagnetic response of the large superconductor may become paramagnetic when the finite-size-determined Thouless energy is larger than or on the order of the Debye energy.

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arXiv2013

Hopping thermoelectric transport in finite systems: boundary effects

It is shown that for the hopping regime, the thermopowers in both finite two-terminal and three-terminal systems are governed by the edges of the samples. This is due to the fact that the energy transfer between a transport electron and a conducting terminal is determined by the site most strongly coupled to that terminal. One-dimensional systems with both nearest-neighbor and variable-range transport as well as certain types of two-dimensional systems, are considered. For a given sample, the changes in the thermopowers due to modifying the bulk are quite limited, compared with those of the conductance. When the small thermopower changes exist, their average over a large ensemble of mesoscopic samples will vanish. We also obtain the distribution of the thermopower in such an ensemble and show that its width approaches a finite limit with increasing sample length. This contrasts with the distribution of conductances in such systems, whose width vanishes in the long sample limit. Finally, we find that the thermal conductances in the three-terminal case have a boundary-dominated contribution, due to non-percolating conduction paths. This contribution can become dominant when the usual conductance is small enough. All our theoretical statements are backed by numerical computations.

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arXiv2012

The n_s - T_c correlations in granular superconductors

Following a short discussion of the granular model for an inhomogeneous superconductor, we review the Uemura and Homes correlations and show how both follow in two limits of a simple granular superconductor model. Definite expressions are given for the almost universal coefficients appearing in these relationships in terms of known constants.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Limitations on the Ginzburg criterion for dirty superconductors

The contributions of superconducting fluctuations to the specific heat of dirty superconductors are calculated, including quantum and classical corrections to the `usual' leading Gaussian divergence. These additional terms modify the Ginzburg criterion, which is based on equating these fluctuation-generated contributions to the mean-field discontinuity in the specific heat, and set limits on its applicability for materials with a low transition temperature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Normal persistent currents in proximity-effect bilayers

We calculate the contribution of superconducting fluctuations to the mesoscopic persistent current of an ensemble of rings, each made of a superconducting layer in contact with a normal one, in the Cooper limit. The superconducting transition temperature of the bilayer decays very quickly with the increase of the relative width of the normal layer. In contrast, when the Thouless energy is larger than the temperature then the suppression of the persistent current with the increase of this relative width is much slower than that of the transition temperature. This effect is similar to that predicted for magnetic impurities, although the proximity effect considered here results in pair-weakening as opposed to pair-breaking.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Three-terminal thermoelectric transport through a molecular junction

The thermoelectric transport through a molecular bridge is discussed, with an emphasis on the effects of inelastic processes of the transport electrons caused by the coupling to the vibrational modes of the molecule. In particular it is found that when the molecule is strongly coupled to a thermal bath of its own, which may be at a temperature different from those of the electronic reservoirs, a heat current between the molecule and the electrons can be converted into electric current. Expressions for the transport coefficients governing this conversion and similar ones are derived, and a possible scenario for increasing their magnitudes is outlined.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Transport through molecular junctions with a nonequilibrium phonon population

The calculation of the nonlinear conductance of a single-molecule junction is revisited. The self energy on the junction resulting from the electron-phonon interaction has at low temperatures logarithmic singularities (in the real part) and discontinuities (in the imaginary one) at the frequencies corresponding to the opening of the inelastic channels. These singularities generate discontinuities and logarithmic divergences (as a function of the bias voltage) in the low-temperature differential conductance around the inelastic thresholds. The self energy also depends on the population of the vibrational modes. The case of a vibrating free junction (not coupled to a thermal bath), where the phonon population is determined by the bias voltage is examined. We compare the resulting zero-temperature differential conductance with the one obtained for equilibrated phonons, and find that the difference is larger the larger is the bare transmission of the junction and the product of the electron dwell time on the junction with the phonon frequency.

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arXiv2009

Voltage-induced singularities in transport through molecular junctions

The inelastic scattering of electrons which carry current through a single-molecule junction is modeled by a quantum dot, coupled to electron reservoirs via two leads. When the electron is on the dot, it is coupled to a single harmonic oscillator of frequency $ω_0$. At zero temperature, the resonance peak in the linear-response conductance always narrows down due to the coupling with the vibrational mode. However, this narrowing down is given by the Franck-Condon factor only for narrow resonances. Contrary to some claims in the literature, the linear-response conductance does not exhibit any side-bands at zero temperature. Small side-bands, of order $\exp [-β\hbar ω_0]$, do arise at finite temperatures. The single-particle density of states exhibits discontinuities and logarithmic singularities at the frequencies corresponding to the opening of the inelastic channels, due to the imaginary and real parts of the self-energy. The same singularities also generate discontinuities and logarithmic divergences in the differential conductance at and around the inelastic thresholds. These discontinuities usually involve upwards steps, but these steps become negative within a rather narrow range of the elastic transparency of the junction. This range shrinks further as the the excitation energy exceeds the bare resonance width.

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arXiv2008

The conductance of superconducting-normal hybrid structures

The dc conductance of normal-superconducting hybrid structures is discussed. It is shown that since the Bogoliubov-DeGennes (BDG) equation does not conserve charge, its application to create a Landauer-type approach for the conductance of the NSN system is problematic. We `mend' this deficiency by calculating the conductance from the Kubo formula for a ring configuration (for this geometry the solutions of the BDG equation conserve charge). We show that the presence of a superconductor segment within an otherwise normal metal may {\em reduce} the overall conductance of the composite structure. This reduction enhances the tendency of the NS composite to become insulating.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Delayed currents and interaction effects in mesoscopic capacitors

We propose an alternative derivation for the dynamic admittance of a gated quantum dot connected by a single-channel lead to an electron reservoir. Our derivation, which reproduces the result of Prêtre, Thomas, and Büttiker for the universal charge-relaxation resistance, shows that at low frequencies, the current leaving the dot lags after the entering one by the Wigner-Smith delay time. We compute the capacitance when interactions are taken into account only on the dot within the Hartree-Fock approximation and study the Coulomb-blockade oscillations as a function of the Fermi energy in the reservoir. In particular we find that those oscillations disappear when the dot is fully `open', thus we reconcile apparently conflicting previous results.

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arXiv2008

Effect of pair-breaking on mesoscopic persistent currents well above the superconducting transition temperature

We consider the mesoscopic normal persistent current (PC) in a very low-temperature superconductor with a bare transition temperature $T_c^0$ much smaller than the Thouless energy $E_c$. We show that in a rather broad range of pair-breaking strength, $T_c^0 \lesssim \hbar/τ_s \lesssim E_c$, the transition temperature is renormalized to zero, but the PC is hardly affected. This may provide an explanation for the magnitude of the average PC's in the noble metals, as well as a way to determine their $T_c^0$'s.

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arXiv2007

An inhomogeneous Josephson phase in thin-film and High-Tc superconductors

In many cases inhomogeneities are known to exist near the metal (or superconductor)-insulator transition, as follows from well-known domain-wall arguments. If the conducting regions are large enough (i.e. when the T=0 superconducting gap is much larger than the single-electron level spacing), and if they have superconducting correlations, it becomes energetically favorable for the system to go into a Josephson-coupled zero-resistance state before (i.e. at higher resistance than) becoming a "real" metal. We show that this is plausible by a simple comparison of the relevant coupling constants. For small grains in the above sense, the electronic grain structure is washed out by delocalization and thus becomes irrelevant. When the proposed "Josephson state" is quenched by a magnetic field, an insulating, rather then a metallic, state should appear. This has been shown to be consistent with the existing data on oxide materials as well as ultra-thin films. We discuss the Uemura correlations versus the Homes law, and derive the former for the large-grain Josephson array (inhomogenous superconductor) model. The small-grain case behaves like a dirty homogenous metal. It should obey the Homes law provided that the system is in the dirty supeconductivity limit. A speculation why that is typically the case for d-wave superconductors is presented.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Level-occupation switching of the Quantum Dot, and phase anomalies in mesoscopic interferometry

For a variety of quantum dots, the widths of different single-particle levels may naturally differ by orders of magnitude. In particular, the width of one strongly coupled level may be larger than the spacing between other, very narrow, levels. We found that in this case many consecutive Coulomb blockade peaks are due to occupation of the same broad level. Between the peaks the electron jumps from this level to one of the narrow levels and the transmission through the dot at the next resonance essentially repeats that at the previous one. This offers a natural explanation of the salient features of the behavior of the transmission phase in an interferometer with a QD. The theory of this effect will be reviewed with special emphasis on the role of the interactions. New results on the dot-charging measurements and the fine structure of occupation switchings will be presented, accompanied by the unified description of the whole series of CB peaks caused by a single broad level. We then discuss the case where the system approaches the Kondo regime.

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