Coulomb blockade in quantum dots under AC pumping

TL;DR

This paper investigates how AC perturbations influence conductance in quantum dots under Coulomb blockade, highlighting the roles of heating, cooling mechanisms, and dynamic localization in altering conductance peak shapes.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of the interplay between external AC driving, cooling processes, and dynamic localization effects on Coulomb blockade conductance.

Findings

AC perturbations significantly modify Coulomb blockade peaks.

Cooling mechanisms include electron exchange and phonon emission.

Dynamic localization can drastically change conductance behavior.

Abstract

We study conductance through a quantum dot under Coulomb blockade conditions in the presence of an external periodic perturbation. The stationary state is determined by the balance between the heating of the dot electrons by the perturbation and cooling. We analyze two cooling mechanisms: electron exchange with the cold contacts and emission of phonons. Together with the usual linear Ohmic heating of the dot electrons we consider possible effects of dynamic localization. The combination of the abovementioned factors may result in a drastic change of the shape of the Coulomb blockade peak with respect to the usual equilibrium one.