Robustness of ballistic transport in antidot superlattices

TL;DR

This paper explains the robustness of magneto-resistance peaks in antidot superlattices, attributing them to a fundamental relation between collision times and phase space, which persists despite impurity scattering.

Contribution

It introduces a new explanation for the magneto-resistance peaks based on phase space and collision times, clarifying their robustness in antidot lattices.

Findings

Peaks are linked to a fundamental relation between collision times and phase space.

The mechanism explains robustness against impurity scattering.

Applicable to various mesoscopic transport phenomena.

Abstract

The magneto-resistance of antidot lattices shows pronounced peaks, which became a hallmark of ballistic electron transport. While most studies agree that they reflect the interplay of regular and chaotic motion in the quasi-classical dynamics, the exact mechanism has been surprisingly controversial. Inspired by recent experiments on graphene antidot lattices showing that the effect survives strong impurity scattering, we give a new explanation of the peaks linked to a fundamental relation between collision times and accessible phase space volumes, accounting for their robustness. Due to the fundamental nature of the mechanism described it will be relevant in many mesoscopic transport phenomena.