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Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 156804 (2004) [4 pages]

Where is the Shot Noise of a Quantum Point Contact?

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Frederick Green1,2, Jagdish S. Thakur3, and Mukunda P. Das1
1Department of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Advanced Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
2School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA

Received 4 November 2003; published 16 April 2004

Reznikov et al. [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 75 3340 (1995)] have presented definitive observations of nonequilibrium noise in a quantum point contact. Especially puzzling is the “anomalous” peak structure of the excess noise measured at constant current; to date it remains unexplained. We show that their experiment directly reveals the deep link between conservation principles in the electron gas and its low-dimensional, mesoscopic behavior. The keys to that connection are gauge invariance and the compressibility sum rule. These are central not only to the experiment of Reznikov et al., but to the very nature of all mesoscopic transport.

© 2004 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.156804
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.156804
PACS:
71.10.Ca, 72.10.–d, 72.70.+m, 73.23.–b
 
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