The Kondo Cloud in a 1D Nanowire

TL;DR

This paper models the Kondo cloud in a 1D nanowire system, aligning with recent experiments, and predicts how electrostatic perturbations influence the Kondo temperature and local density of states, aiding future experimental characterization.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of the Kondo cloud in a 1D system, matching experimental results and offering detailed predictions for future measurements.

Findings

Electrostatic perturbations within the Kondo cloud significantly affect $T_K$.

The local density of states reveals the Kondo state, observable via scanning tunneling microscopy.

The model supports and extends recent experimental observations.

Abstract

A recent experiment [Nature 579, 210--213 (2020)] probed the extent of the Kondo cloud in 1D by measuring the effect of electrostatic perturbations applied a distance $L$ away from the impurity on $T_K$. We study the Kondo cloud in a model proposed to describe this experimental setup, consisting of a single impurity Anderson model coupled to two semi-infinite 1D leads. In agreement with the experimental results, we find that $T_K$ is strongly affected by perturbations to the lead within the Kondo cloud. We obtain a complementary picture of the Kondo cloud in this system by observing how the Kondo state manifests itself in the local density of states of the leads, which may be observed experimentally via scanning tunneling microscopy. Our results support the existing experimental data and provide detailed predictions for future experiments seeking to characterize the Kondo cloud in this system.