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arXiv:0902.4816 · Physical Review B

Quantum phase transition in quantum dot trimers

Andrew K. Mitchell, Thomas F. Jarrold, David E. Logan

Published Feb 26, 2009• 76 citations
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Abstract

We investigate a system of three tunnel-coupled semiconductor quantum dots in a triangular geometry, one of which is connected to a metallic lead, in the regime where each dot is essentially singly occupied. Both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Kondo regimes, separated by a quantum phase transition, are shown to arise on tuning the interdot tunnel couplings and should be accessible experimentally. Even in the ferromagnetically-coupled local moment phase, the Kondo effect emerges in the vicinity of the transition at finite temperatures. Physical arguments and numerical renormalization group techniques are used to obtain a detailed understanding of the problem.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.79.085124

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We investigate a system of three tunnel-coupled semiconductor quantum dots in a triangular geometry, one of which is connected to a metallic lead, in the regime where each dot is essentially singly occupied. Both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ Kondo regimes, separated by a quantum phase transition, are shown to arise on tuning the interdot tunnel couplings and should be accessible experimentally. Even in the ferromagnetically-coupled local moment phase, the Kondo effect emerges in the vicinity of the transition at finite temperatures. Physical arguments and numerical renormalization group techniques are used to obtain a detailed understanding of the problem.
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We investigate electronic transport through a parallel double quantum dot (DQD) system with strong on-site Coulomb interaction, as well as the interdot tunnelling. By applying numerical renormalization group method, the ground state of the system and the transmission probability at zero temperature are obtained. For a system of quantum dots with degenerate energy levels and small interdot tunnel coupling, the spin correlations between the DQDs is ferromagnetic, and the ground state of the system is a spin-1 triplet state. The linear conductance will reach the unitary limit (2 e 2 / h ) due to the Kondo effect at low temperature. As the interdot tunnel coupling increases, there is a quantum phase transition from ferromagnetic to anti-ferromagnetic spin correlation in DQDs and the linear conductance is strongly suppressed.
The quantum phase transition and the electronic transport in a triangular quantum dot system are investigated using the numerical renormalization group method. We concentrate on the interplay between the interdot capacitive coupling V and the interdot tunnel coupling t . For small t , three dots form a local spin doublet. As t increases, due to the competition between V and t , there exist two first-order transitions with phase sequence spin-doublet-magnetic frustration phase-orbital spin singlet. When t is absent, the evolutions of the total charge on the dots and the linear conductance are of the typical Coulomb-blockade features with increasing gate voltage. While for sufficient t , the antiferromagnetic spin correlation between dots is enhanced, and the conductance is strongly suppressed for the bonding state is almost doubly occupied.
The transport properties of a linear structure of three quantum dots, with the central one connected to leads, are studied using the logarithmic discretization embedded cluster approximation. It is shown that the side dot spins can be ferromagnetically (F) or antiferromagnetically (AF) correlated between them, depending on the charge at the central dot. The system possesses a regime of coexistence of a two stage Kondo effect and the F phase. Ferromagnetism destroys the Kondo ground state when the system is driven to the molecular regime by increasing the interdot interaction above the largest Kondo temperature. Instead, an AF ground state does not compete with the Kondo regime. This remarkable behavior indicates that the measurement of the conductance can be an efficient readout procedure when the system operates as a quantum gate.
We investigate two equivalent, capacitively coupled semiconducting quantum dots, each coupled to its own lead, in a regime where there are two electrons on the double dot. With increasing interdot coupling, a rich range of behavior is uncovered: first a crossover from spin- to charge-Kondo physics, via an intermediate SU(4) state with entangled spin and charge degrees of freedom, followed by a quantum phase transition of Kosterlitz-Thouless type to a non-Fermi-liquid "charge-ordered" phase with finite residual entropy and anomalous transport properties. Physical arguments and numerical renormalization group methods are employed to obtain a detailed understanding of the problem.