Hydrodynamic electron flow in high-mobility wires

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates hydrodynamic electron flow in high-mobility wires through experimental resistance measurements and theoretical modeling, revealing the transition from Knudsen to Poiseuille flow and matching predictions with observed data.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental observation of hydrodynamic electron flow in electrostatically defined wires and develops a comprehensive Boltzmann transport model for analysis.

Findings

Resistance first increases then decreases with current due to electron-electron interactions.

Flow profiles show evolution from diffusive to Poiseuille flow.

Good agreement between experimental data and theoretical predictions.

Abstract

Hydrodynamic electron flow is experimentally observed in the differential resistance of electrostatically defined wires in the two-dimensional electron gas in (Al,Ga)As heterostructures. In these experiments current heating is used to induce a controlled increase in the number of electron-electron collisions in the wire. The interplay between the partly diffusive wire-boundary scattering and the electron-electron scattering leads first to an increase and then to a decrease of the resistance of the wire with increasing current. These effects are the electronic analog of Knudsen and Poiseuille flow in gas transport, respectively. The electron flow is studied theoretically through a Boltzmann transport equation, which includes impurity, electron-electron, and boundary scattering. A solution is obtained for arbitrary scattering parameters. By calculation of flow profiles inside the wire it is demonstrated how normal flow evolves into Poiseuille flow. The boundary-scattering parameters for the gate-defined wires can be deduced from the magnitude of the Knudsen effect. Good agreement between experiment and theory is obtained.