Probing the Discrete Level Spectrum of Open Quantum Dots

Abstract

Low temperature measurements of open quantum dots exhibit a series of periodic oscillations in their conductance as a function of gate voltage at zero magnetic field. Realistic numerical simulations of the devices confirm the basic observations of experiment and reveal the existence of periodically recurring wavefunction scars. The simple periodicity of the conductance oscillations and the strong scarring of the wavefunction in the dot suggest that the intrinsic transport properties of these devices are dominated by the selective excitation of a small number of dot states, even in the absence of an applied magnetic field.