Mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm Interferometers: Decoherence and Thermoelectric Transport

Abstract

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 terminals; 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, generated 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.

Tuning the Aharonov-Bohm effect with dephasing in nonequilibrium transport

“…In contrast to Ref. [51], the polaron transformation allows to study the influence of decoherence even for strong couplings γ.…”

Quantum Coherent Three-Terminal Thermoelectrics: Maximum Efficiency at Given Power Output

“…Here, the third terminal (reservoir M) supplies heat in the form of photons (or phonons). Such systems have been considered using microscopic models of the photon flow [3][4][5][6][7]11,12,14,20], however here we instead use a phenomenological argument to replace the reservoir of photons sketched in Fig. 1c by the reservoir of electrons sketched in Fig.…”

“…In recent years, there has been a lot of theoretical [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] and experimental [21][22][23] interest in three-terminal thermoelectrics, see Fig. 1.…”

Thermoelectric effects in a rectangular Aharonov-Bohm geometry

“…Indeed, it has been argued that a thermoelectric figure of merit approaching 4 could be attainable for such devices at room temperature 11 . More recent studies have focussed further on issues relating to the exploitation of these Fano-type resonances 16 , as well as investigations into decoherence [17][18][19][20] .…”