Thermopower as a tool to investigate many-body effects in quantum systems

Abstract

Measuring the thermopower of a confined quantum system reveals important information about its excitation spectrum. Our simulations show how this kind of transport spectroscopy is able to extract a clear signal for the onset of Wigner localization in a nanowire segment. This demonstrates that thermopower measurements provide a tool for investigating complex many-body quantum effects, which is less intrusive than the usual charge-stability diagram as no high source-drain bias is required. While the effect is most pronounced for weak tunnel coupling and low temperatures, the excited states also significantly affect the thermopower spectrum at moderate temperature, adding distinct features to the characteristic thermopower lineshape.