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Noise-Induced Backscattering in a Quantum Spin Hall Edge

Jukka I. Väyrynen, Dmitry I. Pikulin, and Jason Alicea
Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 106601 – Published 6 September 2018
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Abstract

Time-reversal symmetry suppresses electron backscattering in a quantum-spin-Hall edge, yielding quantized conductance at zero temperature. Understanding the dominant corrections in finite-temperature experiments remains an unsettled issue. We study a novel mechanism for conductance suppression: backscattering caused by incoherent electromagnetic noise. Specifically, we show that an electric potential fluctuating randomly in time can backscatter electrons inelastically without constraints faced by electron-electron interactions. We quantify noise-induced corrections to the dc conductance in various regimes and propose an experiment to test this scenario.

  • Figure
  • Received 31 May 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.106601

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Jukka I. Väyrynen1, Dmitry I. Pikulin1, and Jason Alicea2,3

  • 1Station Q, Microsoft Research, Santa Barbara, California 93106-6105, USA
  • 2Department of Physics and Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
  • 3Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

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Issue

Vol. 121, Iss. 10 — 7 September 2018

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