Experimental Investigation of the Breakdown of the Onsager-Casimir Relations

Marlow, C. A.; Taylor, R. P.; Fairbanks, M. S.; Shorubalko, Ivan; Linke, Heiner

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.96.116801

Cited by 56 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Such interaction-induced asymmetry was not reported in previous nonlinear measurements on rings [10], due to the multi-terminal nature of these experiments, but it has been observed very recently in carbon nanotubes [15] and in semiconductor quantum dots [16,17]. These experiments address the lowest-order nonlinearity G {2} only.…”

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confidence: 81%

“…Models developed for non-interacting electrons predict an effect symmetric in magnetic field, which has been observed experimentally through bias voltage induced universal conductance fluctuations [10,11]. The possibility to observe magnetic field asymmetric nonlinear transport has been addressed only very recently both theoretically [12,13] and experimentally [14,15,16,17]. The models proposed there rely on effects of electron-electron interactions in noncentrosymmetric systems.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Magnetic Field Symmetry and Phase Rigidity of the Nonlinear Conductance in a Ring

et al. 2006

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We have performed nonlinear transport measurements as a function of a perpendicular magnetic field in a semiconductor Aharonov-Bohm ring connected to two leads. While the voltage-symmetric part of the conductance is symmetric in magnetic field, the voltage-antisymmetric part of the conductance is not symmetric. These symmetry relations are compatible with the scattering theory for nonlinear mesoscopic transport. The observed asymmetry can be tuned continuously by changing the gate voltages near the arms of the ring, showing that the phase of the nonlinear conductance in a two-terminal interferometer is not rigid, in contrast to the case for the linear conductance.PACS numbers: 73.50.Fq, A mesoscopic ring can be used as an electron interferometer in order to compare the electronic phase of electrons traveling through both arms of the ring using the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect. However, it has been shown that a two-terminal ring does not allow to measure directly this phase difference in the linear transport [1]: the two-terminal conductance shows AB oscillations with a phase constrained to 0 or π [2,3,4]. This phase rigidity is a consequence of microreversibility [5] showing that the linear conductance of a two-terminal system must be symmetric in magnetic field [1,6]. A direct measurement of the phase difference is possible only in an open multi-terminal geometry [7,8].While the Onsager-Casimir relations hold close to equilibrium (linear conductance), there is no fundamental reason why far from equilibrium the nonlinear conductance should still follow this symmetry, i.e., one could expect G(V, B) = G(V, −B). It is then natural to ask whether the phase rigidity would still hold for the nonlinear transport in a two-terminal ring.In a phase coherent diffusive system, nonlinear conductance is expected when the bias voltage is larger than E T /e, where E T is the Thouless energy [9]. Models developed for non-interacting electrons predict an effect symmetric in magnetic field, which has been observed experimentally through bias voltage induced universal conductance fluctuations [10,11]. The possibility to observe magnetic field asymmetric nonlinear transport has been addressed only very recently both theoretically [12,13] and experimentally [14,15,16,17]. The models proposed there rely on effects of electron-electron interactions in noncentrosymmetric systems. Such behavior could be also expected in AB rings, for which symmetry breaking occurs due to asymmetries in the phase accumulated in each arm of the ring.Here we address the question of the magnetic field symmetries of the nonlinear conductance in a ring used as an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer. We have performed nonlinear d.c. transport measurements in a ring connected to two terminals. The current is fitted by a polynomial function of the bias voltage, with each coefficient of the decomposition showing AB oscillations as a function of magnetic field. While the odd coefficients are symmetric in magnetic field and show strong h/2e oscillations, the even coefficient...

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Magnetic Field Symmetry and Phase Rigidity of the Nonlinear Conductance in a Ring

et al. 2006

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“…Importantly, these injectivities break the Onsager symmetry under reversal of an external magnetic field, 23 which has been confirmed experimentally. [24][25][26][27][28] In the isoelectric case, charge can be injected to or from the system depending on whether the carrier's energy lies above or below the chemical potential. Thus, we define entropic injectivities 10 that specify the charge pile-up in response to a pure thermal gradient.…”

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confidence: 99%

Nonlinear heat transport in mesoscopic conductors: Rectification, Peltier effect, and Wiedemann-Franz law

López

Sánchez

2013

Phys. Rev. B

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We investigate nonlinear heat properties in mesoscopic conductors using a scattering theory of transport. Our approach is based on a leading-order expansion in both the electrical and thermal driving forces. Beyond linear response, the transport coefficients are functions of the nonequilibrium screening potential that builds up in the system due to interactions. Within a mean-field approximation, we self-consistently calculate the heat rectification properties of a quantum dot attached to two terminals. We discuss nonlinear contributions to the Peltier effect and find departures from the Wiedemann-Franz law in the nonlinear regime of transport.

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“…Therefore, we extend the theory [2] to include chirality effects by taking into account trigonal warping, tube curvature, and magnetic field B, and then compute the nonlinear twoterminal magnetoconductance. While the well-known Onsager symmetry G(B) = G(−B) [5] excludes linear-in-B terms in the linear conductance, such terms can appear out of equilibrium [6,7,8], with first experimental observations reported for SWNTs [9,10] and semiconductor quantum dots or rings [11,12,13,14,15].…”

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confidence: 99%