Negative dynamic conductance of a quantum wire with unscreened Coulomb interaction

TL;DR

This paper investigates how unscreened Coulomb interactions in a quantum wire lead to charge rearrangements, enhanced negative dynamic conductance, and increased instability under DC bias, revealing new insights into electron transport behavior.

Contribution

It demonstrates the effects of unscreened Coulomb interactions on charge distribution and dynamic conductance in quantum wires, highlighting conditions for instability and negative conductivity.

Findings

Charge density and potential landscape rearrange at high bias.

Screening occurs mainly near the cathode contact.

Negative dynamic conductance and instability are enhanced.

Abstract

Dynamic conductance and time-of-flight current instability in a quantum wire connected to electron reservoirs under DC bias voltage are studied in the absence of a gate screening the Coulomb interaction of electrons. Due to a strong electron-electron interaction, dramatic rearrangements of the charge density distribution and the potential landscape in the wire occur at a sufficiently high DC bias voltage. The applied voltage is screened mainly near the cathode contact, and an almost flat potential profile is established in the most of the wire. Thus, the size of the region of a population inversion of electronic states greatly increases, and the band of wave vectors that form unstable modes of electronic waves significantly reduces. As a result, the conditions for the occurrence of the time-of-flight instability are greatly facilitated and the negative dynamic conductivity increases.