We study DC charge and spin transport through a weakly coupled quantum dot, driven by a non-adiabatic periodic change of system parameters. We generalize the model of Tien and Gordon to simultaneously oscillating voltages and tunnel couplings. When applying our general result to the two-parameter charge pumping in quantum dots, we find interference effects between the oscillations of the voltage and tunnel couplings. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility to electrically pump a spin current in presence of a static magnetic field.
Adiabatic pumping is a fundamental concept in the time-dependent transport of mesoscopic devices. To maximize pumping performance, i.e., the amount of pumping per unit time, it is necessary to carefully manage the driving speed, which should be sufficiently less than the {\it limited speed}, an upper bound of the driving speed below which non-adiabatic effects are negligible. In general, the amount of pumping increases as the contour of the driving parameter lengthens, however a long contour diminishes the pumping power because it requires more time per cycle under the limited speed constraint…
Quantum pumping in closed systems is considered. We explain that the Kubo formula contains all the physically relevant ingredients for the calculation of the pumped charge ($Q$) within the framework of linear response theory. The relation to the common formulations of adiabatic transport and ``geometric magnetism" is clarified. We distinguish between adiabatic and dissipative contributions to $Q$. On the one hand we observe that adiabatic pumping does not have to be quantized. On the other hand we define circumstances in which quantized adiabatic pumping holds as an approximation. The deviatio…
Non-equilibrium two-parameter pumping transport through graphene ribbons, attached to reservoirs is described. A tight-binding model is solved using Keldysh formalism, and the crossover between adiabatic and non-adiabatic regimes is studied. Pumped dc currents through armchair ribbons show properties common in two-dimensional systems. The width-dependent dc current in zigzag ribbons, reveals that edge states akin to those in two-dimensional topological insulators, do not contribute to pumped transport in the adiabatic regime. The interplay between propagating and evanescent modes is discussed.
We study non-adiabatic two-parameter charge and spin pumping through a single-level quantum dot with Coulomb interaction. For the limit of weak tunnel coupling and in the regime of pumping frequencies up to the tunneling rates, $Ω\lesssim Γ/\hbar$, we perform an exact resummation of contributions of all orders in the pumping frequency. As striking non-adiabatic signatures, we find frequency-dependent phase shifts in the charge and spin currents, which allow for an effective single-parameter pumping as well as pure spin without charge currents.
We study the adiabatic quantum pumping characteristics in the graphene modulated by two oscillating gate potentials out of phase. The angular and energy dependence of the pumped current is presented. The direction of the pumped current can be reversed when a high barrier demonstrates stronger transparency than a low one, which results from the Klein paradox. The underlying physics of the pumping process is illuminated.
We investigate a recently developed scheme for quantized charge pumping based on single-parameter modulation. The device was realized in an AlGaAl-GaAs gated nanowire. It has been shown theoretically that non-adiabaticity is fundamentally required to realize single-parameter pumping, while in previous multi-parameter pumping schemes it caused unwanted and less controllable currents. In this paper we demonstrate experimentally the constructive and destructive role of non-adiabaticity by analysing the pumping current over a broad frequency range.
We present a general formalism to study adiabatic pumping through interacting quantum dots. We derive a formula that relates the pumped charge to the local, instantaneous Green function of the dot. This formula is then applied to the infinite-U Anderson model both for weak and strong tunnel-coupling strengths.
We investigate adiabatic pumping via a single level quantum dot induced by periodic modulation of thermodynamic variables of reservoirs, i.e., temperatures and electrochemical potentials. We consider the impurity Anderson model and derive analytical formulas for coherent adiabatic charge pumping applicable to the strong dot-reservoir coupling within first-order perturbation with respect to Coulomb interaction. We show that charge pumping is induced by rectification effect due to delayed response of the quantum dot to time-dependent reservoir parameters. The presence of interaction is necessary…
The charge current adiabatically pumped through a mesoscopic region coupled to a classical variable obeying a nonlinear dynamics is studied within the scattering matrix approach. Due to the nonlinearity in the dynamics of the variable, a hysteretic behavior of the pumping current can be observed for specific characteristics of the pumping cycle. The steps needed to build a quantum pump working as a memory device are discussed together with a possible experimental implementation.
We present a prescription for generating pure spin current or spin selective current, based on adiabatic quantum pumping in a tight-binding model of a one dimensional conductor. A formula for the instantaneous pumped current is derived without introducing the scattering matrix. Our calculations indicate that some pumping cycles produce the maximum value 2 of pumped spin while others reverse the direction of current as a result of small alterations of the pumping cycle. We find pumping cycles which produce essentially any ratio of spin current to charge current.
We study non-adiabatic charge pumping through single-level quantum dots taking into account Coulomb interactions. We show how a truncated set of equations of motion can be propagated in time by means of an auxiliary-mode expansion. This formalism is capable of treating the time-dependent electronic transport for arbitrary driving parameters. We verify that the proposed method describes very precisely the well-known limit of adiabatic pumping through quantum dots without Coulomb interactions. As an example we discuss pumping driven by short voltage pulses for various interaction strengths. Such…
We formulate adiabatic charge pumping via a single-level quantum dot (QD) induced by reser- voir parameter driving, i.e., temperature and electrochemical potential driving. Our formulation describes arbitrary strength of dot-reservoir coupling and Coulomb interaction in the QD, and is applicable to the low-temperature regime, where the Kondo effect becomes important. The adia- batic charge pumping is expressed by the Berry connection and is related to delayed response of the QD. We calculate the pumped charge by the renormalized perturbation theory, and discuss how the Coulomb interaction affe…
We present a study of adiabatic Cooper pair pumping in one dimensional array of Cooper pair boxes. We do a detailed theoretical analysis of an experimentally realizable stabilized charge pumping scheme in a linear array of Cooper pair boxes. Our system is subjected to synchronized flux and voltage fields and travel along a loop which encloses their critical ground state of the system in the flux-voltage plane. The locking potential in the sine-Gordon model slides and changes its minimum which yields the Cooper pair pumping. Our analytical methods are the Berry phase analysis and Abelian bosoni…
We investigate an adiabatic spin pumping through a quantum dot with a single orbital energy level under the Zeeman effect. Electron pumping is produced by two periodic time dependent parameters, a magnetic field and a difference of the dot-lead coupling between the left and right barriers of the dot. The maximum charge transfer per cycle is found to be $e$, the unit charge in the absence of a localized moment in the dot. Pumped charge and spin are different, and spin pumping is possible without charge pumping in a certain situation. They are tunable by changing the minimum and maximum value of…
We derive a formula describing the adiabatically pumped charge through an interacting quantum dot within the scattering matrix and Green's function approach. We show that when the tunneling rates between the leads and the dot are varied adiabatically in time, both in modulus and phase, the current induced in the dot consists of two terms, the pumping current and a rectification-like term. The last contribution arises from the time-derivative of the tunneling phase and can have even or odd parity with respect to the pumping phase φ. The rectification-like term is also discussed in relation to s…
We present a diagrammatic real-time approach to adiabatic pumping of electrons through interacting quantum dots. Performing a systematic perturbation expansion in the tunnel-coupling strength, we compute the charge pumped through a single-level quantum dot per pumping cycle. The combination of Coulomb interaction and quantum fluctuations, accounted for in contributions of higher order in the tunnel coupling, modifies the pumping characteristics via an interaction-dependent renormalization of the quantum-dot level. The latter is even responsible for the {\em dominant} contribution to the pumped…
In order to investigate the effects of interference and interaction in adiabatic pumping, we consider an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interferometer with a quantum dot embedded either in one or in both arms. We employ a real-time formalism and we perform an expansion both in the tunnel-coupling strengths between dot and leads and in the pumping frequency, taking into account the Coulomb interaction non perturbatively. We find that pumping in a single-dot AB interferometer has a peristaltic but phase-coherent character. In a double-dot AB interferometer, we find a pumping mechanism that relies purely on …
The possibility of non-adiabatic electron pumping in the system of three coupled quantum dots attached to the leads is discussed. We have found out that periodical changing of energy level position in the middle quantum dot results in non zero mean tunneling current appeared due to non-adiabatic non-equilibrium processes. The same principle can be used for fabrication of a new class of semiconductor electronic devices based on non-stationary non-equilibrium currents. As an example we propose a nanometer quantum emitter with non-stationary inverse level occupation achieved by electron pumping.
We study the adiabatic quantum pumping and quantum size effects of spin-torque in a magnetic tunnel junction within a scattering matrix approach. Quantum size effects are predicted in the presence of a dc bias as a function of the thickness of the normal metal layer inserted between two magnetic layers and of the fixed magnetic layer. In the presence of ac voltages, the results for the spin-torque show a peculiar magnification effect and advantages of spin-torque pumping in actual devices are also discussed.
We investigate the influence of the Coulomb interaction on the adiabatic pumping current through quantum dots. Using nonequilibrium Green's functions techniques, we derive a general expression for the current based on the instantaneous Green's function of the dot. We apply this formula to study the dependence of the charge pumped per cycle on the time-dependent pumping potentials. The possibility of charge quantization in the presence of a finite Coulomb repulsion energy is investigated in the light of recent experiments.
We use exact techniques to demonstrate theoretically the pumping of fractional charges in a single-level non-interacting quantum dot, when the dot-reservoir coupling is adiabatically driven from weak to strong coupling. The pumped charge averaged over many cycles is quantized at a fraction of an electron per cycle, determined by the ratio of Lamb shift to level-broadening; this ratio is imposed by the reservoir band-structure. For uniform density of states, half an electron is pumped per cycle. We call this "adiabatic almost-topological pumping", because the pumping's Berry curvature is sharpl…
Based on the Floquet scattering theory, we analytically investigate the topological spin pumping for an exactly solvable model. Floquet spin Chern numbers are introduced to characterize the periodically time-dependent system. The topological spin pumping remains robust both in the presence and in the absence of the time-reversal symmetry, as long as the pumping frequency is smaller than the band gap, where the electron transport involves only the Floquet evanescent modes in the pump. For the pumping frequency greater than the band gap, where the propagating modes in the pump participate in the…
We use the equations of motion of non-interacting electrons in a one-dimensional system to numerically study different aspects of charge pumping. We study the effects of the pumping frequency, amplitude, band filling and finite bias on the charge pumped per cycle, and the Fourier transforms of the charge and energy currents in the leads. Our method works for all values of parameters, and gives the complete time-dependences of the current and charge at any site of the system. Our results agree with Floquet and adiabatic scattering theory where these are applicable, and provides support for a me…
We study adiabatic pumping through a double quantum dot coupled to normal and superconducting leads. For this purpose a perturbation expansion in the tunnel coupling between the dots and the normal leads is performed and processes underlying the pumping current are discussed. Features of crossed Andreev reflection are investigated in the average pumped charge and related to local Andreev reflection in a single quantum dot. In order to distinguish Cooper pair splitting from quasi-particle pumping, we compare the properties of Cooper pair pumping with single-electron pumping in a system with onl…
We propose schemes for generating spin currents into a semiconductor by adiabatic or non-adiabatic pumping of electrons through interacting quantum dots. The appeal of such schemes lies in the possibility to tune the pumping characteristics via gate voltages that control the properties of the quantum dot. The calculations are based on a systematic perturbation expansion in the tunnel-coupling strength and the pumping frequency, expressed within a diagrammatic real-time technique. Special focus is put on the possibility of pure spin pumping, i.e., of pumping spin currents without charge current…
We investigate adiabatic quantum pumping of Dirac fermions on the surface of a strong 3D topological insulator. Two different geometries are studied in detail, a normal metal -- ferromagnetic -- normal metal (NFN) junction and a ferromagnetic -- normal metal -- ferromagnetic (FNF) junction. Using a scattering matrix approach, we first calculate the tunneling conductance and then the adiabatically pumped current using different pumping mechanisms for both types of junctions. We explain the oscillatory behavior of the conductance by studying the condition for resonant transmission in the junctio…
Geometric phases of scattering states in a ring geometry are studied based on a variant of the adiabatic theorem. Three time scales, i.e., the adiabatic period, the system time and the dwell time, associated with adiabatic scattering in a ring geometry plays a crucial role in determining geometric phases, in contrast to only two time scales, i.e., the adiabatic period and the dwell time, in an open system. We derive a formula connecting the gauge invariant geometric phases acquired by time-reversed scattering states and the circulating (pumping) current. A numerical calculation shows that the …
In this Letter, we study the real-ime dynamics of single-electron pumpings. We modulate the left tunneling barrier along with the dot level but slightly changing the right barrier to operate the single-electron pumping device at zero bias. We show the adiabatic to the non-adiabatic transition in pumping operations. We also find that the relation $I=eω/2π$ is only valid in the low operating frequency adiabatic regime.
Non-adiabatic pumping of discrete charges, realized by a dynamical quantum dot in an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure, is studied under influence of a perpendicular magnetic field. Application of an oscillating voltage in the GHz-range to one of two top gates, crossing a narrow wire and confining a quantum dot, leads to quantized pumped current plateaus in the gate characteristics. The regime of pumping one single electron is traced back to the diverse tunneling processes into and out-of the dot. Extending the theory to multiple electrons allows to investigate conveniently the pumping characteristi…
Controlled charge pumping in an AlGaAs/GaAs gated nanowire by single-parameter modulation is studied experimentally and theoretically. Transfer of integral multiples of the elementary charge per modulation cycle is clearly demonstrated. A simple theoretical model shows that such a quantized current can be generated via loading and unloading of a dynamic quasi-bound state. It demonstrates that non-adiabatic blockade of unwanted tunnel events can obliterate the requirement of having at least two phase-shifted periodic signals to realize quantized pumping. The simple configuration without multipl…
We analyze the properties of the quasi-one-dimensional triangle lattice emphasizing the occurrence of flat bands and band touching via the tuning of the lattice hopping parameters and on-site energies. The spectral properties of the infinite system will be compared with the transmission through a finite piece of the lattice with attached semi-infinite leads. Furthermore, we investigate the adiabatic pumping properties of such a system: depending on the transmission through the lattice, this results in nonzero integer charge transfers or transfers that increase linearly with the lattice size.
We present a real-time diagrammatic formalism to study adiabatic pumping in chains of tunnel-coupled metallic islands. This approach is based on an expansion to linear order in the frequency of the time-dependent parameters and on a systematic perturbation expansion in the tunnel-coupling strength. We apply our formalism to a single-island and a double-island system. In the single-island setup, we find that the first-order contribution in the tunnel-coupling strength is purely due to the renormalization of the charging-energy gap. In the double-island system, we investigate the transition betw…
A generalization of the Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) model is developed, containing a tunable phase shift between on-site and off-diagonal modulations. A localization transition can be induced by varying just this phase, keeping all other model parameters constant. The complete localization phase diagram is obtained. Unlike the original AAH model, the generalized model can exhibit a transition between topologically trivial bandstructures and topologically non-trivial bandstructures containing protected boundary states. These boundary states can be pumped across the system by adiabatic variations i…
We investigate adiabatic quantum pumping of chiral Majorana states in a system composed of two Mach--Zehnder type interferometers coupled via a quantum point contact. The pumped current is generated by periodic modulation of the phases accumulated by traveling around each interferometer. Using scattering matrix formalism we show that the pumped current reveals a definite signature of the chiral nature of the Majorana states involved in transport in this geometry. Furthermore, by tuning the coupling between the two interferometers the pump can operate in a regime where finite pumped current and…
We show that temporal shape modulations (pumping) of a quantum dot in the presence of spin-orbital coupling lead to a finite dc spin current. Depending on the strength of the spin-orbit coupling, the spin current is polarized perpendicular to the plane of the two-dimensional electron gas, or has an arbitrary direction subject to mesoscopic fluctuations. We analyze the statistics of the spin and charge currents in the adiabatic limit for the full cross-over from weak to strong spin-orbit coupling.
We investigate current-current correlations of adiabatic charge pumping through interacting quantum dots weakly coupled to reservoirs. To calculate the zero-frequency noise for a time-dependently driven system, possibly in the presence of an additional dc bias, we perform within a real-time diagrammatic approach a perturbative expansion in the tunnel coupling to the reservoirs in leading and next-to-leading order. We apply this formalism to study the adiabatic correction to the zero-frequency noise, i.e., the pumping noise, in the case of a single-level quantum dot charge pump. If no stationar…
We consider adiabatic charge transport through an almost open quantum dot. We show that the charge transmitted in one cycle is quantized in the limit of vanishing temperature and one-electron mean level spacing in the dot. The explicit analytic expression for the pumped charge at finite temperature is obtained for spinless electrons. The pumped charge is produced by both non-dissipative and dissipative currents. The latter are responsible for the corrections to charge quantization which are expressed through the conductance of the system.
We consider heterostructures consisting of regions with a continuous symmetry in contact with regions wherein the symmetry is spontaneously broken. The low-frequency dynamics of the corresponding order parameter are shown to induce nonequilibrium transport, a ``pumping,'' out of the symmetry-broken regions, which is governed by the generator of the broken-symmetry operator. This pumping damps Goldstone-mode excitations and transfers them beyond traditional (static) proximity length scales. Our general conclusions are discussed for specific examples of order parameters in helimagnets, charge/sp…
Pumping of charge (Q) in a closed ring geometry is not quantized even in the strict adiabatic limit. The deviation form exact quantization can be related to the Thouless conductance. We use Kubo formalism as a starting point for the calculation of both the dissipative and the adiabatic contributions to Q. As an application we bring examples for classical dissipative pumping, classical adiabatic pumping, and in particular we make an explicit calculation for quantum pumping in case of the simplest pumping device, which is a 3 site lattice model.
We study adiabatic pumping through a two-level quantum dot with spin-orbit coupling. Using a diagrammatic real-time approach, we calculate both the pumped charge and spin for a periodic variation of the dot's energy levels in the limit of weak tunnel coupling. Thereby, we compare the two limits of vanishing and infinitely large charging energy on the quantum dot. We discuss the dependence of the pumped charge and pumped spin on gate voltages, the symmetry in the tunnel-matrix elements and spin-orbit coupling strength. We identify the possibility to generate pure spin currents in the absence of…
We demonstrate single-electron pumping in a gate-defined carbon nanotube double quantum dot. By periodic modulation of the potentials of the two quantum dots we move the system around charge triple points and transport exactly one electron or hole per cycle. We investigate the pumping as a function of the modulation frequency and amplitude and observe good current quantization up to frequencies of 18 MHz where rectification effects cause the mechanism to break down.
In a mesoscopic system, under zero bias voltage, a finite charge is transferred by quantum adiabatic pumping by adiabatically and periodically changing two or more control parameters. We obtained expressions for the pumped charge for a ring of three quantum dots (QDs) by choosing the magnetic flux penetrating the ring as one of the control parameters. We found that the pumped charge shows a steplike behavior with respect to the variance of the flux. The value of the step heights is not universal but depends on the trajectory of the control parameters. We discuss the physical origin of this beh…
We study an adiabatic quantum pump effect in a two terminal graphene device with two oscillating square electric barriers and a stationary magnetic barrier using the scattering matrix approach. The model employs the low-energy Dirac approximation and incorporates the possible existence of a finite band gap in graphene spectrum. We show that in this case valley-polarized and pure valley currents can be pumped due to the valley symmetry breaking. For a δ-function magnetic barrier we present analytical expressions for bilinear total and valley pumping responses. These results are compared to nume…
We study the consequences of interference effects on the current generated by adiabatic quantum pumping in two distinct one-dimensional (1D) lattice model. The first model contains an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) loop within a tight-binding chain of lattice sites. The static AB phase is shown to strongly affect interference between the two arms of the loop, serving as an on-off switch and regulator for the pumped current. The second model simulates pumping in semiconductors with indirect band-gaps, by utilizing a tight-binding chain with next-nearest-neighbor coupling. The model exhibits signatures of i…
We investigate parametric pumping of a spin-polarized current through a nearly-closed quantum dot in a perpendicular magnetic field. Pumping is achieved by tuning the tunnel couplings to the left and right lead - thereby operating the quantum dot as a turnstile - and changing either the magnetic field or a gate-voltage. We analyze the quantum dynamics of a pumping cycle and the limiting time scales for operating the quantum dot turnstile as a pure spin pump. The proposed device can be used as a fully controllable double-sided and bipolar spin filter and to inject spins "on demand".
We analyze the charge and spin pumping in an interacting dot within the almost adiabatic limit. By using a non-equilibrium Green's function technique within the time-dependent slave boson approximation, we analyze the pumped current in terms of the dynamical constraints in the infinite-U regime. The results show the presence of parasitic pumping currents due to the additional phases of the constraints. The behavior of the pumped current through the quantum dot is illustrated in the spin-insensitive and in the spin-sensitive case relevant for spintronics applications.
We study adiabatic charge pumping through a quantum dot placed at the junction of $N$ quantum wires. We explicitly map out the pattern of pumped charge as a function of the time-varying tunneling parameters coupling the wires to the dot and the phase between any two time varying parameters controlling the shape of the dot. We find that with $N-2$ time-independent well-coupled leads, the maximum pumped charge in the remaining two leads is strongly suppressed with increasing $N$, leading to the possibility of tuning of the pumped charge, by modulating the coupling of the $N-2$ leads.
We investigate adiabatic quantum pumping through a normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) junction in a monolayer of graphene. The pumped current is generated by periodic modulation of two gate voltages, applied to the insulating and superconducting regions respectively. In the bilinear response regime and in the limit of a thin high insulating barrier, we find that the presence of the superconductor enhances the pumped current per mode by a factor of 4 at resonance. Compared to the pumped current in an analogous semiconductor NIS junction, the resonances have a $π/2$ phase difference. We…
We consider the adiabatic charge transport through zero-dimensional mesoscopic sample (quantum dot) caused by two periodically changing external perturbations. Both the magnitude and the sign of the transmitted charge are extremely sensitive to the configuration of the dot and to the magnetic field. We find the correlation function characterizing the random value of this pumped charge for arbitrary strength of the perturbation. In contrast to previous theoretical and experimental claims, the charge is found not to have any symmetry with respect to the inversion of magnetic field. At strong pum…
In this work, pumped currents of the adiabatically-driven double-barrier structure based on the pseudospin-1 Dirac-Weyl fermions are studied. As a result of the three-band dispersion and hence the unique properties of pseudospin-1 Dirac-Weyl quasiparticles, sharp current-direction reversal is found at certain parameter settings especially at the Dirac point of the band structure, where apexes of the two cones touches at the flat band. Such a behavior can be interpreted consistently by the Berry phase of the scattering matrix and the classical turnstile mechanism.
We present a realization of quantized charge pumping. A lateral quantum dot is defined by metallic split gates in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. A surface acoustic wave whose wavelength is twice the dot length is used to pump single electrons through the dot at a frequency f=3GHz. The pumped current shows a regular pattern of quantization at values I=nef over a range of gate voltage and wave amplitude settings. The observed values of n, the number of electrons transported per wave cycle, are determined by the number of electronic states in the quantum dot brought into resonance with the fermi …
We have numerically studied a non-adiabatic charge transport in the quantum Hall system pumped by a magnetic flux, as one of the simplest theoretical realizations of non-adiabatic Thouless pumping. In the adiabatic limit, a pumped charge is quantized, known as Laughlin's argument in a cylindrical lattice. In a uniform electric field, we obtained a formula connecting quantized pumping in the adiabatic limit and no-pumping in the sudden limit. The intermediate region between the two limits is determined by the Landau gap. A randomness or impurity effect is also discussed.
We analytically investigate a non-equilibrium quantum pumping for a single quantum dot connected to external leads on the basis of the quantum master equation (QME). We show that the Coulomb interaction associated with the spin effect in the dot induces the Berry-like phase in the parameter space and this phase results in the excess charge transfer for the cyclic modulation of parameters in leads. We obtain an analytical expression of the curvature of the phase and that for the pumped currents.
We analytically investigate the non-equilibrium pumping for a double quantum dots system on the basis of the quantum master equation (QME), where the double quantum dots are connected to two external leads by the spin coupling. Each of leads has two tunable parameters, temperature and chemical potential. Using QME formalism, we obtain an analytical expression of the Berry-like phase for eigenstate of the QME in the parameter space. We show that the Berry-like curvature is non zero in the whole region in the parameter space. We also show that the Berry-like curvature vanishes in the case of sin…
We review spin properties of semiconductor quantum dots and their effect on optical spectra. Photoluminescence and other types of spectroscopy are used to probe neutral and charged excitons in individual quantum dots with high spectral and spatial resolution. Spectral fine structure and polarization reveal how quantum dot spins interact with each other and with their environment. By taking advantage of the selectivity of optical selection rules and spin relaxation, optical spin pumping of the ground state electron and nuclear spins is achieved. Through such mechanisms, light can be used to pro…
The charge current pumped adiabatically through a deformable quantum dot is studied within the Green's function approach. Differently from the non-deformable case, the current shows an undefined parity with respect to the pumping phase ϕ. The unconventional current-phase relation, analyzed in the weak pumping regime, is due to a dynamical phase shift ϕ_D caused by the elastic deformations of the central region (classical phonons). The role of the quality factor Q of the oscillator, the effects induced by a mechanical resonance and the implications for current experiments on molecular systems a…
A quantum pump in buckled graphene ribbon with armchair edges is discussed numerically. By solving the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model and performing the computer simulation of quantum transport we find that a kink adiabatically moving along the metallic ribbon results in highly-efficient pumping, with a charge per kink transition close to the maximal value determined by the Fermi velocity in graphene. Remarkably, insulating nanoribbon show the quantized value of a charge per kink ($2e$) in relatively wide range of the system parameters, providing a candidate for the quantum standard ampere. We att…
We study adiabatic pumping of electrons through quantum dots attached to ferromagnetic leads. Hereby we make use of a real-time diagrammatic technique in the adiabatic limit that takes into account strong Coulomb interaction in the dot. We analyze the degree of spin polarization of electrons pumped from a ferromagnet through the dot to a nonmagnetic lead (N-dot-F) as well as the dependence of the pumped charge on the relative leads' magnetization orientations for a spin-valve (F-dot-F) structure. For the former case, we find that, depending on the relative coupling strength to the leads, spin …
As an alternative to commonly used electrical methods, we have investigated the optical pumping of charged exciton complexes addressing impurity related transitions with photons of the appropriate energy. Under these conditions, we demonstrate that the pumping fidelity can be very high while still maintaining a switching behavior between the different excitonic species. This mechanism has been investigated for single quantum dots of different size present in the same sample and compared with the direct injection of spectator electrons from nearby donors.
