Abstract
The decoherence of quantum states defines the transition between the quantum world and classical physics. Decoherence or, analogously, quantum mechanical collapse events pose fundamental questions regarding the interpretation of quantum mechanics and are technologically relevant because they limit the coherent information processing performed by quantum computers. We have discovered that the transition regime enables a novel type of matter transport. Applying this discovery, we present nanoscale devices in which decoherence, modeled by random quantum jumps, produces fundamentally novel phenomena by interrupting the unitary dynamics of electron wave packets. Noncentrosymmetric conductors with mesoscopic length scales act as two-terminal rectifiers with unique properties. In these devices, the inelastic interaction of itinerant electrons with impurities acting as electron trapping centers leads to a novel steady state characterized by partial charge separation between the two leads, or, in closed circuits to the generation of persistent currents. The interface between the quantum and the classical worlds therefore provides a novel transport regime of value for the realization of a new category of mesoscopic electronic devices.
Highlights
The measurement process is a mysterious phenomenon at the heart of quantum physics
In this work we assume that physically real decoherence or collapse events are initiated by inelastic interactions and show that they impact mesoscopic transport without a macroscopic measurement process
In order to calculate the transport in the transition regime between unitary quantum physics and classical physics, we add decoherence to the dynamics of the wave packets
Summary
The measurement process is a mysterious phenomenon at the heart of quantum physics. Starting with the Copenhagen interpretation [1,2], numerous approaches have attempted to describe this phenomenon. We focus here on the transition regime between classical and quantum transport and describe the charge carriers as coherent wave packets of finite size [Fig. 1(b)] Existing formalisms assessing this regime are usually based on the Kubo formalism, which ensemble averages the effects of collapses and dephasing processes [20]. In the limits of large and small scattering rates the transport is reciprocal This device concept illustrates the emergence of new functionality in electron transport right in the transition regime between quantum physics and classical physics. In these devices, the reflected electrons follow a nonreciprocal temporal dependence even without an applied magnetic field. Conductors without adequately broken symmetries [Fig. 3(d)] show reciprocal dynamics
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