No Arabic abstract
This is a popular review of some recent investigations of the Kondo effect in a variety of mesoscopic systems. After a brief introduction, experiments are described where a scanning tunneling microscope measures the surroundings of a magnetic impurity on a metal surface. In another set of experiments, Kondo effect creates a number of characteristic features in the electron transport through small electronic devices -- semiconductor quantum dots or single-molecule transistors which can be tuned by applying appropriate gate voltages. The article contains 5 color figures, photo of Jun Kondo, but no equations.
Numerical analysis of the simplest odd-numbered system of coupled quantum dots reveals an interplay between magnetic ordering, charge fluctuations and the tendency of itinerant electrons in the leads to screen magnetic moments. The transition from local-moment to molecular-orbital behavior is visible in the evolution of correlation functions as the inter-dot coupling is increased. Resulting novel Kondo phases are presented in a phase diagram which can be sampled by measuring the zero-bias conductance. We discuss the origin of the even-odd effects by comparing with the double quantum dot.
A dilute concentration of magnetic impurities can dramatically affect the transport properties of an otherwise pure metal. This phenomenon, known as the Kondo effect, originates from the interactions of individual magnetic impurities with the conduction electrons. Nearly a decade ago, the Kondo effect was observed in a new system, in which the magnetic moment stems from a single unpaired spin in a lithographically defined quantum dot, or artificial atom. The discovery of the Kondo effect in artificial atoms spurred a revival in the study of Kondo physics, due in part to the unprecedented control of relevant parameters in these systems. In this review we discuss the physics, origins, and phenomenology of the Kondo effect in the context of recent quantum dot experiments.
We study the non-equilibrium regime of the Kondo effect in a quantum dot laterally coupled to a narrow wire. We observe a split Kondo resonance when a finite bias voltage is imposed across the wire. The splitting is attributed to the creation of a double-step Fermi distribution function in the wire. Kondo correlations are strongly suppressed when the voltage across the wire exceeds the Kondo temperature. A perpendicular magnetic field enables us to selectively control the coupling between the dot and the two Fermi seas in the wire. Already at fields of order 0.1 T only the Kondo resonance associated with the strongly coupled reservoir survives.
We consider the theory of Kondo effect and Fano factor energy dependence for magnetic impurity (Co) on graphene. We have performed a first principles calculation and find that the two dimensional $E_1$ representation made of $d_{xz},d_{yz}$ orbitals is likely to be responsible for the hybridization and ultimately Kondo screening for cobalt on graphene. There are few high symmetry sites where magnetic impurity atom can be adsorbed. For the case of Co atom in the middle of hexagon of carbon lattice we find anomalously large Fano $q$-factor, $qapprox 80$ and strongly suppressed coupling to conduction band. This anomaly is a striking example of quantum mechanical interference related to the Berry phase inherent to graphene band structure.
The Kondo effect is a key many-body phenomenon in condensed matter physics. It concerns the interaction between a localised spin and free electrons. Discovered in metals containing small amounts of magnetic impurities, it is now a fundamental mechanism in a wide class of correlated electron systems. Control over single, localised spins has become relevant also in fabricated structures due to the rapid developments in nano-electronics. Experiments have already demonstrated artificial realisations of isolated magnetic impurities at metallic surfaces, nanometer-scale magnets, controlled transitions between two-electron singlet and triplet states, and a tunable Kondo effect in semiconductor quantum dots. Here, we report an unexpected Kondo effect realised in a few-electron quantum dot containing singlet and triplet spin states whose energy difference can be tuned with a magnetic field. This effect occurs for an even number of electrons at the degeneracy between singlet and triplet states. The characteristic energy scale is found to be much larger than for the ordinary spin-1/2 case.