Effect of connecting wires on the decoherence due to electron-electron interaction in a metallic ring

TL;DR

This paper investigates how connecting wires influence electron-electron interaction-induced decoherence in a metallic ring, analyzing the effects on AAS oscillations and identifying different regimes based on lead length.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of decoherence effects in metallic rings considering finite lead lengths, highlighting the impact of leads on quantum interference phenomena.

Findings

Decoherence effects vary with lead length regimes.

Long leads regime is more relevant experimentally.

Crossover scale between regimes is discussed.

Abstract

We consider the weak localization in a ring connected to reservoirs through leads of finite length and submitted to a magnetic field. The effect of decoherence due to electron-electron interaction on the harmonics of AAS oscillations is studied, and more specifically the effect of the leads. Two results are obtained for short and long leads regimes. The scale at which the crossover occurs is discussed. The long leads regime is shown to be more realistic experimentally.