Conductance oscillations of core-shell nanowires in transversal magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper provides a theoretical analysis of conductance oscillations in core-shell nanowires under transversal magnetic fields, highlighting the role of snaking states and their impact on magnetoconductance measurements across different coupling regimes.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed theoretical model showing how snaking states cause Aharonov-Bohm-like oscillations and conductance peaks, regardless of contact strength.

Findings

Snaking states induce conductance oscillations in nanowires.

Oscillations evolve from Aharonov-Bohm-like to resolved peaks with coupling changes.

Interference of snaking states causes flux periodic oscillations.

Abstract

We analyze theoretically electronic transport through a core-shell nanowire in the presence of a transversal magnetic field. We calculate the conductance for a variable coupling between the nanowire and the attached leads and show how the snaking states, which are low-energy states localized along the lines of vanishing radial component of the magnetic field, manifest their existence. In the strong coupling regime they induce Aharonov-Bohm-like conductance oscillations, which, by decreasing the coupling to the leads, evolve into well resolved peaks. These results show that the formation of snaking states in the nanowire affects magnetoconductance measurements irrespective of the strength of the contacts with the leads. We analyze theoretically electronic transport through a core-shell nanowire in the presence of a transversal magnetic field. We calculate the conductance for a variable coupling between the nanowire and the attached leads and show how the snaking states, which are low-energy states localized along the lines of vanishing radial component of the magnetic field, manifest their existence. In the strong coupling regime they induce Aharonov-Bohm-like conductance oscillations, which, by decreasing the coupling to the leads, evolve into well resolved peaks. The flux periodic oscillations arise due to interference of the snaking states, which is a consequence of backscattering at either the contacts with leads or magnetic/potential barriers in the wire.