Single-electron second-order correlation function G(2) at nonzero temperatures

Abstract

The single-particle state is not expected to demonstrate second-order coherence. This proposition, correct in the case of a pure quantum state, is not verified in the case of a mixed state. Here I analyze the consequences of this fact for the second-order correlation function, $G ^{(2)}$, of electrons injected on top of the Fermi sea with nonzero temperature. At zero temperature, the function $G ^{(2)}$ unambiguously demonstrates whether the injected state is a single- or a multi-particle state: $G^{(2)}_{}$ vanishes in the former case, while it does not vanish in the latter case. However, at nonzero temperatures, when the quantum state of injected electrons is a mixed state, the purely single-particle contribution makes the function $G ^{(2)}_{}$ to be non vanishing even in the case of a single-electron injection. The single-particle contribution puts the lower limit to the second-order correlation function of electrons injected into conductors at nonzero temperatures. The existence of a single-particle contribution to $G ^{(2)}_{}$ can be verified experimentally by measuring the cross-correlation electrical noise.