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Fractal conductance fluctuations of classical origin
H Hennig1, R Fleischmann, L Hufnagel
1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
Summary
Conductance fluctuations in mesoscopic systems reveal electron dynamics. Classical chaotic systems exhibit fractal conductance fluctuations, potentially explaining experimental observations in semiconductor quantum dots.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Quantum chaos
- Mesoscopic systems
Background:
- Conductance fluctuations in mesoscopic systems are sensitive to electron dynamics and chaotic phenomena.
- Previous studies often attributed these fluctuations to quantum interference effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the origin of fractal conductance fluctuations in classical chaotic systems.
- To determine if classical dynamics alone can explain observed fractal behavior in conductance.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of conductance in purely classical chaotic systems.
- Consideration of systems with fully chaotic and mixed phase spaces.
Main Results:
- Generic fractal conductance fluctuations were observed in classical chaotic systems.
- These fluctuations are unrelated to quantum interference.
- The fractal dimension of conductance curves shows dependence on phase breaking length.
Conclusions:
- Classical chaotic dynamics can inherently produce fractal conductance fluctuations.
- This classical mechanism may explain experimental findings in semiconductor quantum dots, particularly the dependence of fractal dimension on phase breaking length.
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