Higher-than-ballistic conduction of viscous electron flows
Strongly interacting electrons can move in a neatly coordinated way, reminiscent of the movement of viscous fluids. Here, we show that in viscous flows, interactions facilitate transport, allowing conductance to exceed the fundamental Landauer's ballistic limit G ball . The effect is particular...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112215 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4268-731X |
| Summary: | Strongly interacting electrons can move in a neatly coordinated way, reminiscent of the movement of viscous fluids. Here, we show that in viscous flows, interactions facilitate transport, allowing conductance to exceed the fundamental Landauer's ballistic limit G ball . The effect is particularly striking for the flow through a viscous point contact, a constriction exhibiting the quantum mechanical ballistic transport at T = 0 but governed by electron hydrodynamics at elevated temperatures. We develop a theory of the ballistic-to-viscous crossover using an approach based on quasi-hydrodynamic variables. Conductance is found to obey an additive relation G = G ball + G vis , where the viscous contribution G vis dominates over G ball in the hydrodynamic limit. The superballistic, low-dissipation transport is a generic feature of viscous electronics. |
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