Electron and Spin Transport in the Presence of Complex Absorbing Potential

TL;DR

This paper investigates how complex absorbing potentials influence electron and spin transport, revealing non-Hermitian effects and distant spin interactions through entanglement in both continuum and lattice models.

Contribution

It introduces a formalism for non-Hermitian Hamiltonians in electron transport and explores the novel impact of complex potentials on spin properties at a distance.

Findings

Complex potentials alter electron transport behavior.

Electron-spin entanglement affects distant spin properties.

Non-Hermitian formalism is effective for modeling absorption effects.

Abstract

We examine the impact of a complex absorbing potential on electron transport, both in the continuum and on a lattice. This requires the use of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians; the required formalism is briefly outlined. The lattice formulation allows us to study the interesting problem of an electron interacting with a stationary spin, and the subsequent time evolution of the electron and spin properties as the electron is absorbed after the initial interaction. Remarkably, the properties of the localized spin are affected 'at-a-distance' by the interaction of the (now entangled) electron with a complex potential.