C. P. Moca

Emergent SU(4) Kondo physics in a spin–charge-entangled double quantum dot

A. J. Keller, S. Amasha1,†, I. Weymann, C. P. Moca, I. G. Rau1,‡, J. A. Katine, Hadas Shtrikman, G. Zaránd, and D. Goldhaber-Gordon Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland BME-MTA Exotic Quantum Phases “Lendület” Group, Institute of Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, H-1521 Budapest, Hungary Department of Physics, University of Oradea, 410087, Romania HGST, San Jose, CA 95135, USA Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 96100, Israel †Present address: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA 02420, USA ‡Present address: IBM Research – Almaden, San Jose, CA 95120, USA Corresponding author; goldhaber-gordon@stanford.edu

Universal Fermi liquid crossover and quantum criticality in a mesoscopic system

Quantum critical systems derive their finite-temperature properties from the influence of a zero-temperature quantum phase transition. The paradigm is essential for understanding unconventional high-Tc superconductors and the non-Fermi liquid properties of heavy fermion compounds. However, the microscopic origins of quantum phase transitions in complex materials are often debated. Here we demonstrate experimentally, with support from numerical renormalization group calculations, a universal crossover from quantum critical non-Fermi liquid behaviour to distinct Fermi liquid ground states in a highly controllable quantum dot device. Our device realizes the non-Fermi liquid two-channel Kondo state, based on a spin-1/2 impurity exchange-coupled equally to two independent electronic reservoirs. On detuning the exchange couplings we observe the Fermi liquid scale T*, at energies below which the spin is screened conventionally by the more strongly coupled channel. We extract a quadratic dependence of T* on gate voltage close to criticality, and validate an asymptotically exact description of the universal crossover between strongly correlated non-Fermi liquid and Fermi liquid states.

Measurement of Quantum Noise in a Carbon Nanotube Quantum Dot in the Kondo Regime

The current emission noise of a carbon nanotube quantum dot in the Kondo regime is measured at frequencies ν of the order or higher than the frequency associated with the Kondo effect k(B)T (K)/h, with TK the Kondo temperature. The carbon nanotube is coupled via an on-chip resonant circuit to a quantum noise detector, a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction. We find for hν ≈ k(B)T(K) a Kondo effect related singularity at a voltage bias eV ≈ hν, and a strong reduction of this singularity for hν ≈ 3k(B)T(K), in good agreement with theory. Our experiment constitutes a new original tool for the investigation of the nonequilibrium dynamics of many-body phenomena in nanoscale devices.

Nonequilibrium frequency-dependent noise through a quantum dot: A real-time functional renormalization group approach

We construct a real time current-conserving functional renormalization group (RG) scheme on the Keldysh contour to study frequency-dependent transport and noise through a quantum dot in the local moment regime. We find that the current vertex develops a non-trivial non-local structure in time, governed by a new set of RG equations. Solving these RG equations, we compute the complete frequency and temperature-dependence of the noise spectrum. For voltages large compared to the

Spin Hall Effect in a Symmetric Quantum Well by a Random Rashba Field

Changes dopant ion concentrations in the sides of a symmetric quantum well are known to create a random Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling. Here we demonstrate that, as a consequence, a finite size spin-Hall effect is also present. Our numerical algorithm estimates the result of the Kubo formula for the spin-Hall conductivity, by using a tight-binding approximation of the Hamiltonian in the framework of a time-dependent Greens function formalism, well suited for very large systems.

Phase diagram and excitations of a Shiba molecule

We analyze the phase diagram associated with a pair of magnetic impurities trapped in a superconducting host. The natural interplay between Kondo screening, superconductivity, and exchange interactions leads to a rich array of competing phases, whose transitions are characterized by discontinuous changes of the total spin. Our analysis is based on a combination of numerical renormalization group techniques as well as semiclassical analytics. In addition to the expected screened and unscreened phases, we observe a new molecular doublet phase where the impurity spins are only partially screened by a single extended quasiparticle. Direct signatures of the various Shiba molecule states can be observed via radio-frequency spectroscopy.

Theory of frequency-dependent spin current noise through correlated quantum dots

We analyze the equilibrium and non-equilibrium frequency-dependent spin current noise and spin conductance through a quantum dot in the local moment regime. Spin current correlations are shown to behave markedly differently from charge correlations: Equilibrium spin cross-correlations are suppressed at frequencies below the Kondo scale, and are characterized by a universal function that we determine numerically for zero temperature. For asymmetrical quantum dots dynamical spin accumulation resonance is found for frequencies of the order of the Kondo energy. At higher temperatures surprising low-frequency anomalies related to overall spin conservation appear.

Finite-Size Effects in a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas with Rashba Spin-Orbit Interaction

Within the Kubo formalism, we estimate the spin-Hall conductivity in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit interaction and study its variation as a function of disorder strength and system size. The numerical algorithm employed in the calculation is based on the direct numerical integration of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation in a spin-dependent variant of the particle source method. We find that the spin-precession length, L_s controlled by the strength of the Rashba coupling, establishes the critical lengthscale that marks the significant reduction of the spin-Hall conductivity in bulk systems. In contrast, the electron mean free path, inversely proportional to the strength of disorder, appears to have only a minor effect.

Theory of ac spin current noise and spin conductance through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime: Equilibrium case

We analyze the equilibrium frequency-dependent spin current noise and spin conductance through a quantum dot in the local moment regime. Spin current correlations behave markedly differently from charge correlations. Equilibrium spin correlations are characterized by two universal scaling functions in the absence of an external field: one of them is related to charge correlations, while the other one describes cross-spin correlations. We characterize these functions using a combination of perturbative and non-perturbative methods. We find that at low temperatures spin cross-correlations are suppressed at frequencies below the Kondo scale, TK, and a dynamical spin accumulation resonance is found at the Kondo energy, ! ∼ TK. At higher temperatures, T > TK, surprising low-frequency anomalies related to overall spin conservation appear in the spin noise and spin conductance, and the Korringa rate is shown to play a distinguished role. The transient spin current response also displays universal and singular properties.

Fermi liquid theory of resonant spin pumping

We study resonant all-electric adiabatic spin pumping through a quantum dot with two nearby levels by using a Fermi liquid approach in the strongly interacting regime, combined with a projective numerical renormalization group (NRG) theory. Due to spin-orbit coupling, a strong spin pumping resonance emerges at every charging transition, which allows for the transfer of a spin similar to h/2 through the device in a single pumping cycle. Depending on the precise geometry of the device, controlled pure spin pumping is also possible.