Interaction-induced dephasing of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electron-electron interactions cause dephasing in Aharonov-Bohm oscillations within quasi-one-dimensional rings, revealing a unique, R-dependent dephasing length different from standard measures.

Contribution

It introduces a new R-dependent dephasing length for Aharonov-Bohm oscillations, highlighting the distinct energy transfer mechanisms involved.

Findings

Dephasing length L_phi^AB differs from standard dephasing length.

L_phi^AB depends parametrically on the ring circumference 2piR.

Dephasing is governed by energy transfers related to the ring size.

Abstract

We study the effect of the electron-electron interaction on the amplitude of mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) diffusive rings. We show that the dephasing length L_phi^AB governing the damping factor exp(-2piR / L_phi^AB) of the oscillations is parametrically different from the common dephasing length for the Q1D geometry. This is due to the fact that the dephasing is governed by energy transfers determined by the ring circumference 2piR, making L_phi^AB R-dependent.