A new transport phenomenon in nanostructures: A mesoscopic analog of the Braess paradox encountered in road networks

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a quantum analog of the Braess paradox in mesoscopic semiconductor networks, showing that congestion can paradoxically reduce transport efficiency, similar to classical traffic networks.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for the Braess paradox in quantum mesoscopic systems, extending classical network concepts to quantum transport phenomena.

Findings

Congestion induces a Braess paradox in mesoscopic quantum networks

Quantum transport can be degraded by adding pathways, similar to classical networks

Theoretical demonstration of the paradox in semiconductor nanostructures

Abstract

The Braess paradox, known for traffic and other classical networks, lies in the fact that adding a new route to a congested network in an attempt to relieve congestion can counter-intuitively degrade the overall network performance. Recently, we have extended the concept of Braess paradox to semiconductor mesoscopic networks, whose transport properties are governed by quantum physics. In this paper, we demonstrate theoretically that, alike in classical systems, congestion plays a key role in the occurrence of a Braess paradox in mesoscopic networks.