Structured Energy Distribution and Coherent AC Transport in Mesoscopic Wires

TL;DR

This paper investigates how an external ac voltage affects electron energy distribution in mesoscopic diffusive wires, revealing a multi-step staircase pattern and analyzing different frequency regimes with implications for spectroscopy and noise.

Contribution

It provides analytical solutions for high and low frequencies and numerical analysis for intermediate frequencies, advancing understanding of ac-driven mesoscopic electron transport.

Findings

Electron distribution forms a multi-step staircase at low temperatures.

Step width corresponds to the field energy quantum.

Frequency-dependent behaviors are characterized analytically and numerically.

Abstract

Electron energy distribution in a mesoscopic diffusive wire in the presence of an external ac voltage is obtained. At low temperatures the distribution has a form of a multi-step staircase, with the step width equal to the field energy quantum. Analytic results for the field frequency high and low compared to Thouless energy are obtained, while the intermediate frequency regime is analyzed numerically. Manifestations in the tunneling spectroscopy and noise measurements are discussed.