Magnetoconductance fluctuations and weak localization in quantum dots: Reliability of the semiclassical approach

Abstract

We utilize a semiclassical (SC) approach to calculate the conductance and weak-localization (WL) corrections in a triangular billiard of a given shape in the presence of nonzero magnetic field. The semiclassical conductance is given as a sum of all classical trajectories between the leads, each of them carrying the quantum-mechanical phase. The present SC approach is numerically exact (i.e., free from any approximations), explicitly includes diffractive effects in the leads, and is valid for arbitrary (low) mode numbers in the leads. We find however that the symmetry of the SC conductance/reflectance with respect to the direction of magnetic field or direction of the current is not satisfied, as well as that the WL corrections for the conductance and reflectance are inconsistent with each other; the SC approach does not satisfy the current conservation requirements and does not reproduce the corresponding exact quantum-mechanical results. The reason for that is traced to the topological difference in the sets of classical trajectories between the leads for different current or magnetic field directions which determine the conductance in the SC approximation. Our findings raise a question as to what extent one can rely on numerous predictions for statistical properties of the conductance oscillations of ballistic cavities including the WL line shapes and fractal conductance which were essentially based on the standard SC approach.