Dynamics of four- versus two-terminal transport through chaotic quantum cavities

TL;DR

This paper analyzes multi-terminal mesoscopic transport in chaotic quantum cavities, revealing that four-terminal resistance fluctuations depend solely on dwell time, while two-terminal transport also involves RC-time, with universal phase distribution predictions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive random matrix theory analysis of four- and two-terminal transport, highlighting the distinct roles of dwell time and RC-time in mesoscopic fluctuations.

Findings

Four-probe resistance fluctuations depend only on dwell time.

Two-probe transport additionally depends on RC-time.

Universal phase distribution of transmitted voltage predicted.

Abstract

We consider multi-terminal mesoscopic transport through a well-conducting chaotic quantum cavity using random matrix theory. Four-probe resistance vanishes on the average and is not affected by weak localization. Its fluctuations are given by a single expression valid for arbitrary temperature, ac frequency, non-ideal coupling of the contacts, and in the presence of floating probes; surprisingly, they are governed by the dwell time only. In contrast, the two-probe transport additionally depends on the RC-time, which is interpreted as a property of the measurement scheme. We also predict a universal mesoscopic distribution of the phase of transmitted voltage in an ac experiment.