Quantum transport in mesoscopic ring structures: Effects of impurities, long-range hopping and interactions

TL;DR

This paper reviews electron transport in mesoscopic ring structures, focusing on quantum effects like persistent currents influenced by impurities, long-range hopping, and interactions, within a tight-binding framework.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of quantum transport phenomena in mesoscopic rings, emphasizing the interplay of coherence, disorder, and interactions at a microscopic level.

Findings

Persistent currents circulate without decay in small conducting loops.

Quantum phase coherence and disorder significantly influence transport behavior.

Temperature affects the magnetic response of persistent currents.

Abstract

In the present review we make a comprehensive analysis of our understanding on electron transport in mesoscopic single-channel rings and multi-channel cylinders within a tight-binding framework. A spectacular mesoscopic phenomenon where a non-decaying current circulates in a small conducting loop is observed upon the application of an Aharonov-Bohm flux $\phi$. To understand its behavior one has to focus attention on the interplay of quantum phase coherence, electron-electron correlation and disorder. This is a highly challenging problem and here we address it for some simple loop geometries with their detailed energy band structures to get an entire picture at the microscopic level. The behavior of low-field magnetic response of persistent current and its temperature dependence are also discussed.