Luis G. G. V. Dias da Silva

Transport properties and Kondo correlations in nanostructures: Time-dependent DMRG method applied to quantum dots coupled to Wilson chains

We apply the adaptive time-dependent density-matrix renormalization-group method tDMRG to the study of transport properties of quantum-dot systems connected to metallic leads. Finite-size effects make the usual tDMRG description of the Kondo regime a numerically demanding task. We show that such effects can be attenuated by describing the leads by Wilson chains, in which the hopping matrix elements decay exponentially away from the impurity tn n/2. For a given system size and in the linear-response regime, results for 1 show several improvements over the undamped =1 case: perfect conductance is obtained deeper in the strongly interacting regime and current plateaus remain well defined for longer time scales. Similar improvements were obtained in the finite-bias regime up to bias voltages of the order of the Kondo temperature. These results show that with the proposed modification, the tDMRG characterization of Kondo correlations in the transport properties can be substantially improved, while it turns out to be sufficient to work with much smaller system sizes. We discuss the numerical cost of this approach with respect to the necessary system sizes and the entanglement growth during the time evolution.

Zero-Field Kondo Splitting and Quantum-Critical Transition in Double Quantum Dots

Double quantum dots offer unique possibilities for the study of many-body correlations. A system containing one Kondo dot and one effectively noninteracting dot maps onto a single-impurity Anderson model with a structured (nonconstant) density of states. Numerical renormalization-group calculations show that, while band filtering through the resonant dot splits the Kondo resonance, the singlet ground state is robust. The system can also be continuously tuned to create a pseudogapped density of states and access a quantum-critical point separating Kondo and non-Kondo phases.

Many-body electronic structure and Kondo properties of cobalt-porphyrin molecules.

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Nanoscale and QuantumPhenomena Institute, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701-2979(Dated: September 30, 2009)We use a combination of first principles many-body methods and the numerical renormalization-group technique to study the Kondo regime of cobalt-porphyrin compounds adsorbed on a Cu(111)surface. We find the Kondo temperature to be highly sensitive to both molecule charging anddistance to the surface, which can explain the variations observed in recent scanning tunnelingspectroscopy measurements. We discuss the importance of many-body effects in the molecularelectronic structure controlling this phenomenon and suggest scenarios where enhanced temperaturescan be achieved in experiments.

Phonon-assisted tunneling and two-channel Kondo physics in molecular junctions

The interplay between vibrational modes and Kondo physics is a fundamental aspect of transport properties of correlated molecular conductors. We present theoretical results for a single molecule in the Kondo regime connected to left and right metallic leads, creating the usual coupling to a conduction channel with left-right parity even. A center-of-mass vibrational mode introduces an additional phonon-assisted tunneling through the antisymmetric odd channel. A non-Fermi-liquid fixed point, reminiscent of the two-channel Kondo effect, appears at a critical value of the phonon-mediated coupling strength. Our numerical renormalization-group calculations for this system reveal non-Fermi-liquid behavior at low temperatures over lines of critical points. Signatures of this strongly correlated state are prominent in the thermodynamic properties and in the linear conductance.

Tunable Pseudogap Kondo Effect and Quantum Phase Transitions in Aharonov-Bohm Interferometers

We study two quantum dots embedded in the arms of an Aharonov-Bohm ring threaded by a magnetic flux. This system can be described by an effective one-impurity Anderson model with an energy- and flux-dependent density of states. For specific values of the flux, this density of states vanishes at the Fermi energy, yielding a controlled realization of the pseudogap Kondo effect. The conductance and transmission phase shifts reflect a nontrivial interplay between wave interference and interactions, providing clear signatures of quantum phase transitions between Kondo and non-Kondo ground states.

Spin-polarized conductance in double quantum dots: Interplay of Kondo, Zeeman, and interference effects

We study the effect of a magnetic field in the Kondo regime of a double-quantum-dot system consisting of a strongly correlated dot (the “side dot”) coupled to a second, noninteracting dot that also connects two external leads. We show, using the numerical renormalization group, that application of an in-plane magnetic field sets up a subtle interplay between electronic interference, Kondo physics, and Zeeman splitting with nontrivial consequences for spectral and transport properties. The value of the side-dot spectral function at the Fermi level exhibits a nonuniversal field dependence that can be understood using a form of the Friedel sum rule that appropriately accounts for the presence of an energy- and spin-dependent hybridization function. The applied field also accentuates the exchange-mediated interdot coupling, which dominates the ground state at intermediate fields leading to the formation of antiparallel magnetic moments on the dots. By tuning gate voltages and the magnetic field, one can achieve complete spin polarization of the linear conductance between the leads, raising the prospect of applications of the device as a highly tunable spin filter. The system’s low-energy properties are qualitatively unchanged by the presence of weak on-site Coulomb repulsion within the second dot.

Finite-temperature conductance signatures of quantum criticality in double quantum dots

We study the linear conductance through a double-quantum-dot system consisting of an interacting dot in its Kondo regime and an effectively noninteracting dot connected in parallel to metallic leads. Signatures in the zero-bias conductance at temperatures

Transport signatures of Kondo physics and quantum criticality in graphene with magnetic impurities

Tg0

Coulomb charging energy of vacancy-induced states in graphene

mark a pair of quantum

Disorder-mediated Kondo effect in graphene

(T=0)