Strong electron correlations and interference effects are discussed in capacitively coupled side attached and embedded quantum dots. The finite -U mean field slave boson approach is used to study many-body effects. In the linear range the many-body resonances exhibit SU(4) Kondo or Kondo-Fano like character and their properties in the corresponding arms are close to the properties of embedded or T-shape double dot systems respectively. Breaking of the spin symmetry in one of the arms or in both allows for the formation of many-body resonances of SU(3) or SU(2) symmetries in the linear range.

We calculate the conductance through strongly correlated T-shaped molecular or quantum dot systems under the influence of phonons. The system is modelled by the extended Anderson–Holstein Hamiltonian. The finite-U mean-field slave boson approach is used to study many-body effects. Phonons influence both interference and correlations. Depending on the dot unperturbed energy and the strength of electron–phonon interaction, the system is occupied by a different number of electrons that effectively interact with each other repulsively or attractively. This leads, together with the interference effects, to different spin or charge Fano–Kondo effects.

We study the magnetoconductance of small-bandgap carbon nanotube quantum dots in the presence of spin–orbit coupling in the strong-correlations regime. A finite-U slave-boson mean-field approach is used to study many-body effects. Different degeneracies are restored in a magnetic field and Kondo effects of different symmetries arise, including SU(3) effects of different types. Full spin–orbital degeneracy might be recovered at zero field and, correspondingly, the SU(4) Kondo effect sets in. We point out the possibility of the occurrence of electron–hole Kondo effects in slanting magnetic fields, which we predict to occur in magnetic fields with an orientation close to perpendicular. When the field approaches a transverse orientation a crossover from SU(2) or SU(3) symmetry into SU(4) is observed.