Temperature-dependent quantum electron transport in 2D point contact

TL;DR

This paper investigates how temperature influences quantum electron transport in a 2D point contact, revealing that electron scattering by Friedel oscillations affects conductance in a temperature-dependent manner.

Contribution

It introduces a model showing how Friedel oscillations impact conductance in 2D ballistic point contacts, highlighting the role of electron-electron interactions.

Findings

Conductance has a linear temperature dependence due to Friedel oscillations.

The sign of the temperature-dependent term depends on the interaction range.

Negative linear conductance correction observed for relevant experimental parameters.

Abstract

We consider a transmission of electrons through a two-dimensional ballistic point contact in the low-conductance regime below the 0.7-anomaly. The scattering of electrons by Friedel oscillations of charge density results in a contribution to the conductance proportional to the temperature. The sign of this linear term depends on the range of the electron-electron interaction and appears to be negative for the relevant experimental parameters.