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# Large positive magneto-resistance in high mobility 2D electron gas: interplay of short and long range disorder

## I Introduction

In recent years, there has been a revival of interest for the semi-classical transport properties of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) particularly for the behavior of the classical magneto-resistance (MR). On one hand, it is due to the technological progress in the preparation of high mobility heterostructures, 2DEGs with artificial scattering and modulating potential, antidot lattices, weak modulated one-dimensional structures, and so on. On the other hand, a remarkable progress has been made recently in the theoretical understanding of the importance of memory effects in semi-classical magneto-transport. In the simplest situation of a degenerated non-interacting 2DEG with isotropic Fermi surface the conventional Boltzmann-Drude approach yields zero magneto-resistance, i.e. the value of the longitudinal component of the resistivity tensor $`\rho _{xx}`$ does not depend on magnetic field. However, already in the pioneering work of Ref. Baskin1,  the importance of non-Boltzmann classical memory effects on the magneto-transport of 2DEGs with a small a number of impurities was demonstrated and a large negative MR was predicted. More than ten years later this MR was observed in experiments performed in antidot lattices2-5. However it’s only recently that the purely classical origin of this MR was fully recognized. This MR may be either negative or positive depending on the type of the scattering potential, and it appears as a consequence of memory effects6-11 both in high ( $`\omega _c>1`$)6-10 and weak magnetic fields ($`\omega _c<1`$)11. Recently a very important step in the understanding of the role of memory effects on the magneto-transport of a real 2DEG in strong magnetic field was done in Ref. Polyakov, . In this paper the theory of the magneto-resistance of a 2DEG scattered by a short -range disorder potential in the presence of a long-range correlated random potential has been advanced. The most important result of this theory is that the interplay of two types of scattering potential generates a new behavior of $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ absent when only one kind of disorder is present, and leads to a positive non-saturating MR.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the experimental behavior of the quasi-classical MR in high mobility 2DEGs in AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure with and without artificial scatters to the theory9. We have observed a large positive non-saturating MR of the 2DEG and the addition of artificial scatters (antidots) in this 2DEG results in a negative MR in intermediate fields that leads a non-monotonic dependence of $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ predicted in Ref. Polyakov, .

## II Experimental set up

The samples we studied were: 1) high mobility 2DEGs in MBE grown AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures with a spacer thickness of 40 nm (sample 188 and 189) and 60 nm (sample 218); 2) lattices of antidot fabricated on the basis of this 2DEG. The parameters of the 2DEG at $`T`$= 4.2 K were the following: sample 188 - $`\mu =(510)10^5cm^2/Vs`$ at electron densities $`N_s=(35)10^{11}cm^2`$; sample 189 - mobility $`\mu =1.210^6cm^2/Vs`$ at $`N_s=610^{11}cm^2`$ and sample 218 - $`\mu =(36)10^5cm^2/Vs`$ at electron densities $`N_s=(12)10^{11}cm^2`$.The samples were photolithographically processed into 50 $`\mu `$m Hall bars with the distance between the four voltage probes on each side 100, 250 and 100 $`\mu `$m and Ohmic contacts to the Hall bars were prepared by annealing of AuNiGe. An antidot lattice with the period $`d`$=0.6 $`\mu `$m was fabricated on the basis of sample 218 with Hall bars on it by means of electron lithography and consequent plasma etching. The samples were measured at $`T=(1.540)K`$ in magnetic fields up to 15 T using superconducting magnet and a Variable Temperature Insert. The data was acquired using standard low frequency lock-in technique.

## III Results and analysis

Fig. 1a shows $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ for the sample 218 at different temperatures in magnetic fields up to 4 T at the electron density $`N_s=1.910^{11}cm^2`$ (The mobility is $`\mu =4.310^5cm^2/Vs`$ at 4.2 K so that $`\omega _c\tau =215`$ at 5 T and the mobility is $`\mu =310^5cm^2/Vs`$ at 40 K with $`\omega _c\tau =150`$ at 5 T). The Hall resistance $`\rho _{xy}(B)`$ under the same conditions is presented in Fig. 1b.

At the lowest temperature ($`T=1.4`$ K) the conventional behavior for high mobility 2DEGs is observed : For $`B<1`$ T there is a small parabolic-like negative MR (possibly due the interaction effects13,14 not discussed here), then the Subnikov de Haas (SdH) oscillations appear, and finally the Quantum Hall Effect sets in with deep minima in $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ and corresponding plateaus in $`\rho _{xy}(B)`$. For high temperatures we observe the disappearance of the SdH oscillations and the magneto-resistance turning to $`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}(B)/\rho _0B^\alpha `$ with $`\alpha `$ close to 1.
The same behavior (except for the low field range where there is no parabolic NMR) is observed in samples 188 and 189 with larger electron densities and mobilities ($`N_s=3.110^{11}cm^2`$, $`\mu =810^5cm^2/Vs`$ and $`N_s=610^{11}cm^2`$ $`\mu =1.210^6cm^2/Vs`$ at $`T=4.2`$ K respectively for 188 and 189. See Fig. 2a and 2b). The value of $`\alpha `$ is close to the value found for sample 218.
A large non-saturating MR was actually observed in earlier papers devoted to high mobility ($`\mu >10^5cm^2/Vs`$) 2DEGs15,16. However all measurements were performed at temperatures $`T4.2`$ K and the semi-classical MR was not clearly detected because of the oscillating dependence of $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$. Our aim here is to study the MR dependence in strong magnetic field ($`\omega _c\tau 1`$) in the high temperatures quasi-classical regime (i.e. $`\mathrm{}\omega _c/2\pi <kT,kTE_F,N>1`$, $`N`$ is the number of occupied Landau level). According to the usual conception of the magneto-transport in high magnetic field the increase of temperature should lead to: 1) a decrease in the amplitude of SdH oscillations and their complete suppression for $`kT>\mathrm{}\omega _c/2\pi `$ and 2) a weak magnetic field dependence of the resistance as long as $`kTE_F`$. In this regime $`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}(B)/\rho _0(kT/E_F)^2`$ so we should not observe a value of $`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}(B)/\rho _0`$ exceeding 10% even at 5 T.
Fig. 1a and Fig. 2 show that our experiment completely supports the first point: Heating the samples to temperatures higher than 20 K leads to the complete disappearance of SdH oscillations. However our high-T experiments reveals $`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}(B)/\rho _0`$ as high as 10-15 for all our samples, a clear contradiction with the second assumption.
Note that the value of the Fermi energy is $`E_F=8meV`$ for sample 218, $`E_F=16meV`$ for sample 188 and $`E_F=31meV`$ for sample 189 which are significantly larger than $`kT`$ even at the highest temperature 40 K ($`kT=3.5meV`$ at 40 K). So that the MR can be not attributed to a non-degeneracy of the 2DEG at this temperature. More over, as can be clearly seen from Fig. 2 the curves are very symmetric and the possibility of mixing between Hall and longitudinal signal can be excluded.

Fig. 3 summarizes the results for all samples : $`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}(\omega _c)/\rho _0`$ are plotted (the curves are displayed in order to keep the condition $`N>1`$ satisfied).

At first glance this result is not surprising; indeed a theory of magneto-transport in a long range scattering potential (which is the case for high mobility 2DEGs in AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures) has recently been proposed8. It predicts a positive MR. However according to this theory $`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}(B)/\rho _0<3`$ and, more importantly, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}(B)/\rho _0`$ should show a maximum around $`\omega _c\tau =(100200)`$ and go to zero in the limit of infinite fields (this is the sign of the localization of electrons in this limit).
Fig. 3 shows that we observe no saturation even at $`\omega _c\tau `$ as high as $`(34)10^2`$. So we are in the interesting following situation: Theoretically it is predicted that if only one kind of scattering potential is present (short range or long range) there should be either no MR at all or a negative MR in the limit of infinite magnetic field. On the contrary we observe a large ($`\mathrm{\Delta }\rho _{xx}/\rho _010`$) non-saturating magneto-resistance. Note that quantum calculation in the framework of Born approximation12 can give a positive MR at high temperatures (when SdH oscillations are washed out) but the value of the exponent $`\alpha `$ is then 0.5 not around 1 as we observe so the theoretical framework completely fails to explain our data.
A qualitative explanation of our results might be given in the recent work of Ref. Polyakov,  where the theory of a semi-classical magneto-transport in 2DEGs with both kinds of disorder potential (which is always the case in any sample) has been advanced. The more important conclusion of this theory is that the interplay of short range disorder (random ensemble of impenetrable discs of diameter $`a`$ and density $`n`$) and long-range correlated disorder generates a new behavior of $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ including the appearance of a non-saturating positive semi-classical MR. The autor shows that the localization ($`\rho _{xx}0`$ when $`B\mathrm{}`$) induced by the presence of only one kind of disorder is destroyed by the presence the other kind of disorder. In this theory the short range scattering is characterized by the mean free path $`l_s`$ and the long range scattering by $`l_L`$. In the hydrodynamic limit ($`a0,n\mathrm{},l_s=const`$) the theory gives four ranges of magnetic field dependence for the positive MR. In the first range $`\rho _{xx}=const`$, as $`B`$ is increased $`\rho _{xx}`$ turns to $`\rho _{xx}B^{12/7}`$, then to $`\rho _{xx}B^{10/7}`$ and finally to $`\rho _{xx}B^{10/13}`$. Qualitatively the experiment shows a similar behavior (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). But a more detailed comparison shows that there are some differences: For the sample 218 we observe a first range with $`\rho _{xx}=const`$ and then a transition to the dependence $`\rho _{xx}B^\alpha `$ with $`\alpha =0.91.1`$ increasing with the magnetic field (this value is slightly larger than 10/13). For the sample 188 and 189 the picture is different: at weak magnetic fields there is no $`\rho _{xx}=const`$ range, instead we observe $`(\rho _{xx}/\rho _01)B^2`$ and at magnetic fields where $`\rho _{xx}(B)/\rho _01`$ the behavior is the same as for sample 218. There is nothing surprising in the observed difference between the experiment and the theory because the hydrodynamic limit is a very idealized picture and the scattering potential in a real high mobility 2DEG is much more complicated. Also, note that at temperatures $`T20`$ K a significant contribution (see the insert to Fig. 1a) of the phonon scattering appears that can modify the magnetic field dependence of $`\rho _{xx}`$. Obviously phonon scattering should not radically change the situation principally because phonon scattering plays the same role as short range scattering. Nevertheless an accurate description of the experiment at high temperatures requires a theory including phonon scattering.
A very interesting prediction of the theory is given for antidot arrays. In this case the theory predicts a negative MR in intermediate magnetic fields leading to a non-monotonic dependence of $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$.

Fig. 4a shows the experimental dependence $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ measured in an antidot lattice, fabricated on the basis of sample 218 at temperatures between 1.4 K and 40 K for $`N_s=1.810^{11}cm^2`$. The Hall resistance measured under the same conditions is shown in Fig. 4b. The insert to Fig. 4a reveals that at high enough temperatures (when SdH oscillations are suppressed) the experimental curve $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ demonstrate a non-monotonic behavior. For $`B<1.2`$ T a negative MR due to the formation of rosette trajectories is observed. This NMR is then replaced by a non-saturating positive MR, which is similar to the positive MR observed in the unpatterned 2DEGs. A the same time the Hall resistance shows no extra-features evolving from a curve with plateaus into strait line when the temperature is increased (same behavior as in unpatterned samples). Qualitatively the behavior is well described by theory9. However the detailed dependence of $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ obtained from analytical calculations (see part III C from Ref. Polyakov, ) does not coincide with the experimental data ; neither for the negative MR nor for the positive MR and the theory fails to describe the details of our data. We do not observe the $`\rho _{xx}(B)B^1ln(B)`$ for NMR and the value $`\alpha =12/7`$ for PMR of the experimental curve near $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ minimum. The experiment shows $`\rho _{xx}(B)B^{1/2}`$ and $`\rho _{xx}(B)B^{0.9}`$. One of the possible reasons of this disagreement is that the theory considers a random array of antidots while our experiment is performed in a periodic lattice.
Anyway even if it fails to describe accurately our data the theory predicts a minimum and it is interesting to compare the position of the experimental minimum to this prediction. Indeed its position depends on the correlation length of the long range potential and of the average density of antidots independently of the arrangement of the antidots. The theory gives the following condition at the minimum:

$`\zeta /R_{cm}p^{4/19}[n\zeta ^2ln(1/n\zeta ^2p^{1/3})]^{7/19}`$

Where $`p=l_s/(l_L\zeta )^{1/2}`$, $`l_s`$ is the mean free path in the short range potential, $`l_L`$ is the mean free path in the long range potential, $`n`$ is the density of antidots, $`\zeta `$ is the correlation length of the long range potential and $`R_{cm}`$ is the cyclotron radius at the minimum. For our lattice parameters we obtain $`\zeta 100nm`$. This value is close to the spacer thickness ($`60nm`$) which is known to determine the correlation length of the long range potential.

## IV conclusion

In conclusion , we have shown that the quasi-classical MR of a high mobility 2DEG in AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure is very large and non-saturating up to values of $`\omega _c\tau `$ exceeding 300. The magnetic field dependence of $`\rho _{xx}(B)`$ follows the law $`\rho _{xx}(B)B^\alpha `$ ($`\alpha `$=0.9-1.1). In antidot lattices we observe a non-monotonic behavior of the MR (negative first and then positive and non-saturating similar to that observed in unpatterned samples). The comparison of the experimental results with the theory9 gives satisfactory qualitative agreement but the theory fails to describe the details of the magneto-resistance traces.

###### Acknowledgements.

We thank A. Mirlin, D. Polyakov and I. Gornyi for useful discussions. This work has been supported by, the programs PICS1577-RFBR02-02-22004, NATO Linkage (N CLG.978991), INTAS (Grant N 01-0014) programs ”Physics and Technology of Nanostructures” of the Russian ministry of Industry and Science and ”Low dimensional quantum structures” of RAS.


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# Dual structures in (1-𝑥)Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-𝑥PbTiO3 ferroelectric relaxors

## Abstract

We performed x-ray diffraction studies on a series of (1-$`x`$)Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-$`x`$PbTiO3 (PZN-$`x`$PT) single crystals with different incident photon energies, and therefore different penetration depths. Our results show that outer-layers of $`10`$ to $`50`$ $`\mu `$m thick are present in all samples. The structure of those outer-layers is different from that of the inside of the crystals, by having much greater (rhombohedral) distortions. With increasing $`x`$, rhombohedral-type lattice distortions develop, both in the outer-layer and the inside.

The relaxor system Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZN) and its solid solutions with PbTiO3 ($`x`$PT) have attracted much attention recently due to their extraordinary piezoelectric properties Park and Shrout (1997), and potential industrial application as high-performance actuators. The high piezoelectric response is shown to be directly related to a particular region in the phase diagram Kuwata et al. (1982, 1981); Cox et al. (2001); La-Orauttapong et al. (2002); Uesu et al. (2002). In zero external electric field, for temperatures below the Curie Temperature $`T_C`$, the system has long been believed to be in a rhombohedral (R) phase for small $`x`$, and tetragonal (T) for large $`x`$, separated by a narrow region of monoclinic (M) phase Cox et al. (2001); La-Orauttapong et al. (2002); Uesu et al. (2002) ( see Fig. 1). With the application of an external electric field along the  direction, however, the M phase can be induced in PZN-$`x`$PT systems with smaller $`x`$ values (the zero filed rhombohedral region). Even with the removal of the field, the M phase still remains Noheda et al. (2002); Ohwada et al. (2003).

Only recently has the structure of pure PZN been well determined. It was believed to be in a so-called microdomain state below $`T_C=410`$ K Mulvihill et al. (1997), which only transforms into a macrodomain state with external electric field poling along  direction. Lebon et al. Lebon et al. (2002) reported the first explicit zero field structural measurements using conventional x-ray diffraction (Cu $`K_\alpha `$ 8.9 keV). They observed the rhombohedral distortion for temperatures below $`T_C`$ as previously believed. However, more recently, high energy x-ray (67 keV) diffraction work, which penetrates more deeply into the sample, by Xu et al. Xu et al. (2003a) on pure PZN single crystals shows that the inside of the crystal does not have any measurable (rhombohedral) lattice distortion. This new phase X has an average cubic lattice ($`a=b=c,\alpha =\beta =\gamma =90^{}`$), yet the true symmetry is still unknown. Another important finding during the x-ray diffraction work on PZN was the existence of an “outer-layer” with different structures than the inside of the crystal. Lower energy x-rays (10.2 keV) were used to study the PZN single crystal, and a rhombohedral distortion was found to exist below $`T_C`$ for the outer most $`10`$ to $`50`$ $`\mu `$m of the crystal Xu et al. (2003a).

In this letter, we present x-ray diffraction result using both 67 and 10.2 keV x-rays on PZN, PZN-4.5%PT and PZN-8%PT single crystals, measured at 300 K, below $`T_C`$ for all three systems. Our results show that the inside of both 4.5PT and 8PT crystal has rhombohedral distortions, unlike the phase X in pure PZN. On the other hand, all three systems show clear difference between the inside and outer-layer structures.

The PZN single crystal was grown at the Simon Fraser University in Canada (the same crystal used in Ref Xu et al. (2003a)), and one of the 8PT crystal was grown at the Pennsylvania State University, previously studied by Ohwada et al. Ohwada et al. (2003). We have also used 4.5PT and 8PT single crystals provided by H. C. Materials. All samples have been repeatedly heated well above $`T_C`$ and cooled down to eliminate any residue electric field polling effect. The 67 keV x-ray measurements were performed at X17B1 beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). All the 67 keV x-ray diffraction measurements were performed in transmission mode so that the inside of the bulk crystal was probed (penetration depth $`400`$ $`\mu `$m). The 10.2 keV x-ray measurements were performed in reflection mode with penetration depth $`10`$ $`\mu `$m, at X22A beamline of NSLS.

In Fig. 2, we show x-ray diffraction profiles obtained by doing longitudinal scans ($`\theta 2\theta `$ scans) about the (111) Bragg peak on the $`x=0`$, $`4.5\%`$, and $`8\%`$ samples. The units are multiples of the reciprocal lattice units (r.l.u.) $`a^{}=2\pi /4.060`$ Å $`=1.5476`$ Å-1. For pure PZN, with 67 keV x-rays, the Bragg profile is one single sharp peak without any splittings, as expected from an undistorted lattice (phase X) Xu et al. (2003a). The inside of the 4.5PT and 8PT crystals, however, are quite different. Both have a main peak and a “shoulder” on the left side, indicating that the lattice is (rhombohedrally) distorted.

Similar measurements on the same samples were performed with 10.2 keV x-rays. The results are also plotted in Fig. 2. The outer-layer Bragg profiles of all three samples have two peaks. For pure PZN, it is clearly different from the undistorted structure of the inside of the crystal. Based on the penetration length of 10.2 keV x-rays ($`\xi 13`$ $`\mu `$m), we believe the depth of this rhombohedrally distorted region is about $`10`$ to $`50`$ $`\mu `$m. In addition, the peaks are shifted to higher $`q`$ positions for all three samples, compared to the 67 keV x-ray results.

For a rhombohedral lattice, the {111} peaks split into two because of two different $`q_{(111)}`$ lengths associated with different domains. With a fit to two Gaussians (solid line in Fig. 2), we can extract the positions of the two peaks and therefore determine the rhombohedral lattice parameter $`a`$ and rhombohedral angle $`\alpha `$, as shown in Table. 1 and Fig. 3.

Here we can see that for pure PZN, the outer-layer structure and the inside structure are distinctly different (undistorted vs. rhombohedrally distorted). For the 4.5PT and 8PT crystals, both the outer-layer and inside are rhombohedrally distorted, yet the distortion and the lattice parameter are still quantitatively different. The rhombohedral angle $`\alpha `$, which is a direct measure of how much the lattice is distorted, is also shown in Fig. 3. The rhombohedral distortions of the outer-layers in our measurements are consistent with results from previous studies on pure PZN Lebon et al. (2002), PZN-4.5%PT Forrester et al. (2001) and PZN-8%PT Noheda et al. (2001), which in fact did measure the outer-layer structure, due to the limited penetration length of the x-ray energy used and/or the powder nature of the samples. It is very important to note that for same $`x`$ values, the outer-layer is always more distorted than the inside. In addition, the rhombohedral distortion develops in both the outer-layer and the inside with increasing $`x`$.

Similar behavior has also been observed in another prototype lead-oxide perovskite system Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-$`x`$PbTiO3 (PMN-$`x`$PT). High $`q`$-resolution neutron scattering work by Gehring et al. Gehring et al. (2003) and Xu et al. Xu et al. (2003b) show that PMN-10%PT and PMN-20%PT also transform into phase X instead of R below $`T_C`$. However, in PMN-27%PT Xu et al. (2003b), the low temperature phase was found to be rhombohedral instead of X. These results indicate that the ground state for the inside of PMN-$`x`$PT is similar to that of PZN-$`x`$PT system, i.e., phase X for small $`x`$ values, and with increasing $`x`$, rhombohedral distortions develop and the system changes into a true rhombohedral phase. On the other hand, even for very small $`x`$ values in PMN-$`x`$PT, rhombohedral distortion has been observed by conventional x-ray diffraction measurements Ye et al. (2003), which probes the outer-layer. It shows that the difference between the inside and outer-layer structures is also present in PMN-$`x`$PT series.

What is the driving force behind these differences between the outer-layer and the inside of these crystals? Why is the inside of pure PZN (phase X) undistorted? These are questions yet to be answered. In our current picture, the polar nanoregions (PNR) play a very important role in answering these questions.

The concept of PNR was first introduced by Burns and Dacol Burns and Dacol (1983) in their attempt to interpret the optical index of refraction data on several ferroelectric and relaxor compounds, including both PZN and PMN. It was then widely used in describing the common properties of relaxor systems Smolensky (1970); Cross (1987). The PNR start to appear at the Burns temperature $`T_d`$, which is a few hundred degrees above $`T_C`$, and grow with cooling. Lately, Hirota et al. Hirota et al. (2002) proposed that the PNR are not only polarized regions, but also displaced from their surrounding lattices along the polarization direction (“uniform phase shift”).

In pure PZN, although the inside of the crystal has an undistorted lattice, ferroelectric soft TO phonon measurements Stock et al. (2002) still show signatures of global ferroelectric polarization below $`T_C`$. It is usually true that ferroelectric polarization would lead to lattice distortions. However, in phase X, the lattice distortion is not achieved, possibly due to the energy barrier created by the shifted PNR. Phase X is therefore a special phase in which the lattice is polarized yet not distorted. A balance is established inside the lattice between the polarization, which wants to distort the lattice; and the energy barrier, coming from phase shifted PNR, which prevents a global lattice distortion to form. A small driving force, such as an external electric field, would be able to “pole” the crystal and create a global rhombohedral lattice. Another possible driving force, is the boundary conditions near the surface of the crystal. In pure PZN, the outer-layer is rhombohedrally distorted, yet the inside is undistorted. In 4.5PT and 8PT, the rhombohedral distortion in the outer-layer is more predominant than that inside the crystal. Moving from the inside to the outer-layer, the balance between the ferroelectric polarization and the energy barrier from the PNR is also tuned in favor of the distortion.

We believe the existence of an outer-layer in the relaxor system PZN-$`x`$PT, and very likely in other relaxor systems such as PMN-$`x`$PT, is extremely interesting and helps explaining many discrepancies between previous conventional x-ray powder diffraction and current neutron scattering and high energy x-ray diffraction results. More work has been carried out on detailed temperature dependent structure analysis of the outer-layer and inside of the PZN-$`x`$PT series, and will be discussed elsewhere.

We would like to thank P. Gehring, J. Hill, B. Ocko, S. Shapiro, C. Stock and Z. Zhong for stimulating discussions. Financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 is also gratefully acknowledged.


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# Low-energy 𝝅𝝅 photoproduction off nuclei

## Abstract

In the present paper we investigate $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ and $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ photoproduction off complex nuclei at incident beam energies of $`400460`$ MeV. Simulations of two pion photoproduction on protons and nuclei are performed by means of a semi-classical BUU transport model including a full coupled-channel treatment of the final state interactions. Elastic scattering of the final state pions with the nucleons in the surrounding nuclear medium is found to yield a downward shift of the $`\pi \pi `$ invariant mass distribution. We show that the target mass dependence of the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ invariant mass spectrum as measured by the TAPS collaboration can be explained without introducing medium effects beyond absorption and quasi-elastic scattering of the final state particles. On the other hand, we find considerable discrepancies with the data in the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel, which are not understood.

One major goal of current nuclear physics is the observation of at least partial restoration of chiral symmetry. Since the chiral order parameter $`\overline{q}q`$ is expected to decrease by about 30% already at normal nuclear matter density Drukarev and Levin (1990); Cohen et al. (1992); Li and Ko (1994); Brockmann and Weise (1996), any in-medium change due to the dropping quark condensate should in principle be observable in photonuclear reactions. The conjecture that such a partial restoration of chiral symmetry causes a softening and narrowing of the $`\sigma `$ meson as the chiral partner of the pion in the nuclear medium Bernard et al. (1987); Hatsuda et al. (1999) has led to the idea of measuring the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ invariant mass distribution near the $`2\pi `$ threshold in photon induced reactions on nuclei Schadmand (2002). In contrast to its questionable nature as a proper quasiparticle in vacuum, the $`\sigma `$ meson might develop a much narrower peak at finite baryon density due to phase-space suppression for the $`\sigma \pi \pi `$ decay, hence making it possible to explore its properties when embedded in a nuclear many-body system Schuck et al. (1988); Aouissat et al. (1995); Chiang et al. (1998); Jido et al. (2001). Measuring a threshold enhancement of the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ invariant mass spectrum might serve as a signal for the partial restoration of chiral symmetry inside nuclei and, therefore, give information about one of the most fundamental features of QCD.

A first measurement of the two pion invariant mass spectrum has been obtained by the CHAOS collaboration in pion induced reactions on nuclei Bonutti et al. (1996, 2000). An accumulation of spectral strength near the $`2\pi `$ threshold has been observed for large nuclei in the $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ channel. This can be interpreted as a change of the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction or, respectively, of the properties of the $`\sigma `$ meson in the nuclear environment. The photon can test much higher densities than any hadronic probe due to its electromagnetic coupling to the nucleon and, therefore, is much better suited to investigate the in-medium properties of hadrons. A recent experiment with the TAPS spectrometer at the tagged-photon facility MAMI-B in Mainz shows an even more pronounced accumulation of spectral strength of the two pion mass spectrum for low invariant masses with increasing target mass corresponding to increasing average densities Messchendorp et al. (2002). This accumulation has been observed for the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ but not for the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ final state, which could be interpreted as a significant modification of the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction in the $`\sigma (I=0)`$ channel.

One of the present great challenges of nuclear theory is to be able to disentangle new phenomena like in-medium modifications from more conventional nuclear effects such as Fermi motion, absorption and rescattering of the final state particles. In this respect, connecting the outcome of theoretical models concerning the intrinsic properties of the QCD excitation spectrum to experimental observables is an important and frequently undervalued issue. In the present paper we study the production and propagation of pion pairs in nuclei in a semi-classical approximation using vacuum matrix elements but taking into account binding energies, Fermi motion and Pauli blocking of the produced final state. If this approach consistently fails to reproduce the experimental measurements, one confidently might introduce new ideas going beyond what has been established so far. In this respect, the present study can be understood as a cross-check regarding the observation of a modification of the $`\sigma `$ meson in two pion photoproduction off nuclei.

The authors of Ref. Roca et al. (2002); Oset et al. (2001) studied double pion photoproduction off nuclei in a many-body approach, achieving quite impressive agreement with the experimental data. Their results imply a clear modification of the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction in the medium that can be related to an in-medium change of the properties of the $`\sigma `$ meson. Within the model of Ref. Roca et al. (2002) the $`\sigma `$ meson is generated dynamically through the underlying chiral dynamics of the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction, which is treated in a chiral-unitary approach. However, the final state interactions (FSI) of the pions with the nucleons in the surrounding nuclear medium have been treated as purely absorptive by means of a Glauber-type damping factor calculated along straight line trajectories. In fact, rescattering of the final pions affect the charge of the detected final state (by charge exchange processes) and changes the trajectories. Therefore, FSI could considerably distort the observed invariant mass spectra.

In the present study the FSI are described within a coupled-channel transport model based on the semi-classical Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) equation. For details of this model we refer the reader to Refs. Effenberger et al. (1997); Teis et al. (1997); Muhlich et al. (2003) and references therein. However, we divert from the implementation of BUU used in these papers in the fact that baryonic resonances are not explicitly propagated. In addition, low energy pion absorption has been implemented by means of the absorptive part of the pion optical potential developed in Refs. Nieves et al. (1993a); Garcia-Recio et al. (1991). The optical potential of Ref. Nieves et al. (1993a) is an extrapolation for low energy pions of the one obtained previously Nieves et al. (1993b) using microscopic many-body techniques. At pion kinetic energies above $`T_\pi =85`$ MeV, the potential of Ref. Garcia-Recio et al. (1991) is used. The later is meant to describe the region dominated by the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ resonance and matches well with the low energy one. This is similar to what was done in Roca et al. (2002). The important difference of our approach to a purely absorptive treatment of the FSI is that in an interaction with a nucleon of the target nucleus the primarily produced hadron might not only be absorbed but also might change its momentum in an elastic collision. Furthermore, for instance, a $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ pair need not to be created in the photon-nucleon interaction but also might be produced from a primary $`\pi ^+\pi ^0`$ pair followed by a charge exchange reaction during the FSI. One should bear in mind that the assumption of pions moving along classical trajectories might be somewhat crude at the rather low energies we are dealing with here. On the other side, a good description of pion-nucleus reactions within cascade models has been achieved for pions of energies down to 85 MeV Engel et al. (1994); Salcedo et al. (1988) and, more recently, of absorption cross sections at energies as low as 30 MeV Buss . Ultimately, it would be desirable to incorporate quantum corrections in semiclassical approaches Salcedo (2003).

For the elementary two pion photoproduction process on the nucleon we exploit the model of Refs. Nacher et al. (2001); Gomez Tejedor and Oset (1996). This model provides us with a reasonable input for the elementary double-pion production processes on nucleons, not only for the total cross sections but also for the differential distributions. This is illustrated in Fig. 1 where the invariant mass distribution for $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ and $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ photoabsorption is compared to the experimental data measured by the TAPS collaboration Messchendorp et al. (2002).

In the following we adopt the coupled-channel transport model in a Monte-Carlo simulation to examine the influence of the FSI on two pion photoproduction off nuclei. To this aim we separate the FSI in absorption, elastic and charge exchange collisions of the produced pions with the nucleons of the target nucleus. In the present calculation we have not included the real part of the pion potential assuming therefore that pions move along straight lines between collisions. So far we have performed preliminary calculations including the Coulomb potential that gives small corrections to observables involving charged pions in the final state. A more complete study including the real part of the pion optical potential will be available in a forthcoming paper Muehlich et al. .

The probability of a pion-nucleon elastic (charge-exchange) collision is determined using the experimental values of the vacuum cross sections for the available channels and assuming isospin symmetry for the rest. If an elastic process occurs, then the momenta of the final particles are sorted according to the vacuum pion-nucleon angular distributions. We get these differential cross sections for all elastic and charge exchange reactions in terms of the phase shifts and inelasticities obtained in the SAID analysis Arndt et al. (1995, 2003).Typically, BUU simulations assume isotropic angular distributions in the pion-nucleon center-of-mass frame . As a matter of fact, the results presented here with realistic angular distributions differ only slightly from those obtained with the isotropic prescription. This is in line with the results obtained earlier in Ref. Engel et al. (1994).

In Fig. 2 we show the two pion invariant mass distributions for the $`{}_{}{}^{12}C(\gamma ,\pi ^0\pi ^0)`$ and the $`{}_{}{}^{208}Pb(\gamma ,\pi ^0\pi ^0)`$ reactions. For the solid curves we assumed purely absorptive FSI, implying that the final state pions do not undergo elastic or charge exchange collisions. These curves can be compared to the dotted lines that represent the theoretical results of Ref. Roca et al. (2002) and Messchendorp et al. (2002) 111The results of the calculation for the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel given in Ref. Messchendorp et al. (2002) should be multiplied by a factor 2 Roca et al. . involving the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction in the vacuum. Within the theoretical uncertainties of both models these results can be regarded as identical in the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel. However, in the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel we obtain larger differential cross sections for both nuclei, specially at higher invariant masses. Since we are using the same input for the elementary reaction and the same absorption mechanism as in Roca et al. (2002) we would have expected a similar level of agreement as in the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel.

Extending the FSI to absorption and elastic collisions without charge exchange we obtain the results depicted by the dashed lines. An appreciable shift of strength to the low invariant mass region is observed. This shift can be attributed to the energy loss of the pions that undergo elastic collisions, in most cases yielding a downward shift of the invariant mass of the respective pion pair. This can at least partially be understood as follows. In general, the two pions of the primary produced $`\pi \pi `$ pair have unequal momenta. Within the relevant kinematics the mean value of the single pion momenta ranges somewhere between 100 MeV and 150 MeV. In this energy domain the elastic cross section for $`\pi N`$ scattering varies dramatically, leading to a high probability for the pion with the higher momentum, say above 150 MeV, to scatter elastically. The invariant mass of the pair is a function of the absolute value of the two pion momenta and the angle between the pion moving directions. Keeping the momentum of the slow moving pion and the angle constant, this function rises monotonously with the value of the larger pion momentum. In an elastic $`\pi N`$ collision the fast pion in average will lose some of its kinetic energy, hence leading to a downward shift of the invariant mass of the pion pair. The change of the angle between the pion directions does not have a net effect, since this angle is changed more or less isotropically, hence leading in some cases to higher and in other cases to lower invariant masses.

In Fig. 3 we show the invariant mass distributions including also charge exchange $`\pi N`$ collisions. The total cross section is enhanced by these reactions. In the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel, this enhancement is due to the fact that the cross section for photoproduction of $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ pairs is much larger than the cross section for $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ photoproduction, hence leading to more side-feeding by the $`\pi ^+n\pi ^0p`$ and $`\pi ^{}p\pi ^0n`$ reactions as compared to the loss of neutral pion flux by the inverse reactions. An equivalent much more pronounced effect is observed in the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel because the cross section for $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ photoproduction is much larger than the cross sections of any of the other channels, hence leading to considerable side-feeding by means of the charge exchange reactions mentioned above.

For the charge exchange collisions, the same kinematic considerations as in the purely elastic case hold, therefore leading to an even more pronounced shift of strength to the low invariant mass region as can be seen from the dashed line in figure 3. We have also calculated the contribution from single pion photoproduction via inelastic $`\pi N\pi \pi N`$ collisions. Within the considered energy range, those pion pairs give an additional correction of about 5% to the total cross sections and, therefore, have been omitted in the present calculations.

In Fig. 4 we present our results for both the $`A(\gamma ,\pi ^0\pi ^0)`$ and the $`A(\gamma ,\pi ^\pm \pi ^0)`$ reaction in comparison to the experimental data from the TAPS collaboration Messchendorp et al. (2002). In the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel we find excellent agreement with the experimental data. Our curves also look very similar to the results of Ref. Roca et al. (2002) despite the completely different physics involved. The downward shift in the invariant mass spectrum, which in Ref. Messchendorp et al. (2002) was taken as an indication for chiral symmetry restoration or in-medium modification of the $`\pi \pi `$ correlation, is reproduced solely by ordinary final state interactions of the two outgoing pions.

In the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel our results are considerably higher than the data and also above those obtained by Roca et al. Roca et al. (2002). The difference of the two theoretical curves can – at least partially – be understood by the incomplete set of FSI incorporated in the model of Ref. Roca et al. (2002). Side-feeding has been omitted in Ref. Roca et al. (2002) by restricting the interactions of the produced pions with the nuclear medium to purely absorptive FSI. The discrepancy with the experimental data is a standing problem because the apparently stronger pion absorption in the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel than in the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel as indicated by the experimental measurements (compare Figs. 1 and 4) is not understood. Concerning the shapes, our results in the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel are also shifted towards low invariant masses. However, the quality of the available data does not allow to discriminate between the shape we have obtained and one which is not downward shifted, like the one of Ref. Roca et al. (2002).

In summary, we have indicated the relevant role of some conventional FSI effects in two-pion photoproduction in nuclei. Elastic scattering of the pions with nucleons of the target nucleus yields a loss of kinetic energy of the scattered pions and therefore, in average, to a reduced invariant mass of the pion pair. Charge exchange reactions produce a non-negligible contribution to the $`\pi \pi `$ mass spectra, giving rise to an even more pronounced accumulation of spectral strength in the low invariant mass region. On the other hand, side-feeding especially from the $`\gamma N\pi ^+\pi ^{}N`$ reaction followed by a $`\pi N`$ collision with charge exchange, that cannot be accounted for in models involving purely absorptive FSI, further increases the differential cross sections in the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel, to values significantly above the data. The apparently stronger absorption of pions in the $`\pi ^\pm \pi ^0`$ channel as compared to the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel is still an unsolved problem both from the experimental and theoretical point of view. However, our explanation of the observed downward shift of the invariant mass spectrum follows completely well established nuclear physics effects, that, even if a complete understanding of $`\pi \pi `$ photoproduction off complex nuclei is not yet possible, have to be accounted for in any serious calculation. We therefore conclude that, given our present understanding, the observed target mass dependence of the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ invariant mass spectrum can be explained by final state interactions and thus does not provide an unmistakable evidence on the modification of the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction or, respectively, on the properties of the $`\sigma `$ meson at finite nuclear densities. More work, both experimental and theoretical, is required to clarify this issue.

The authors acknowledge valuable discussions with J. Lehr, V. Metag, M. Post and S. Schadmand. This work was supported by DFG and BMBF. One of us, LAR, has been supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He also would like to thank E. Oset, M. J. Vicente Vacas and specially L. Roca for extensive discussions on this problem.


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# Untitled Document

MESOSCOPIC TRANSPORT: THE ELECTRON-GAS SUM RULES

IN A DRIVEN QUANTUM POINT CONTACT

Mukunda P. Das, Jagdish S. Thakur, and Frederick Green

$``$Department of Theoretical Physics

Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering

The Australian National University

Canberra ACT 0200, Australia

$``$Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Wayne State University

Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA

1. INTRODUCTION

The electron gas is characterized, above all, by its response as a correlated many-particle system. In that setting the conserving sum rules have been thoroughly studied and exhaustively applied for many years . The sum rules and their centrality in the electron-gas problem are widely understood throughout the many-body community – if not elsewhere.

At any scale, from the bulk to the near-microscopic, metallic conduction processes are dominated by the physical constraints encoded within the electron-gas sum rules. Thus they apply, with perfect rigor, to mesoscopic devices such as quantum point contacts. They also govern nonequilibrium transport and fluctuations, as they do the much more familiar linear-response limit.

In this paper we review the structure of the conserving sum rules in the mesoscopic regime, from the weakest driving fields to the strongest. As compact quantitative expressions of the microscopic conservation laws, the sum rules entail a set of straightforward criteria to be met by proper theoretical descriptions of metallic-electron behavior. As we discuss below, these criteria are quite enough to rule out models of mesoscopic processes that fail to uphold the conservation laws.

We recall the leading sum rules for mesoscopic conduction. In particular we apply one of them, the compressibility sum rule, to strongly driven, open electronic systems. Despite their fundamental importance, very little is known about the role of the sum rules in mesoscopic electronics. Since the latter is so deeply rooted in the electron gas, one expects that those relations, as canonical constraints, carry significant information about the way in which the processes underlying transport and its associated current noise are deployed at short scales.

We first discuss the intimate relationship between the transport response of an open mesoscopic device, connected to macroscopic metallic leads, and the structure of the microscopic excitations, or fluctuations, within the device. This relationship is strongly conditioned by the stabilizing effect of the bounding leads on the internal dynamics of the device. Next, we describe how the microscopic form of the fluctuations in the conductor develops away from equilibrium. This leads, in particular, to the sum rules for perfect screening and compressibility . Then we address the physical implications of the compressibility sum rule, whose conceptual and practical import for mesoscopics is on a par with the familiar fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT).

A major, and thus far unexplored, experimental application of the compressibility sum rule is to mesoscopic systems with built-in nonuniformity of their conduction bands. In that context we review some surprising Coulomb effects. These should be clearly manifested through the behavior of the electronic compressibility of inhomogenous quantum wires.

2. BASICS

Sum rules express the microscopic conservation laws at the level of what is measurable in a system. The physical worth of a theory of conduction can be judged, practically and objectively, by the degree to which it satisfies them. Approximate descriptions of an electron system should respect at least the principal ones:

(a) the fluctuation-dissipation relation, expressing energy conservation,

(b) the perfect-screening sum rule (gauge invariance), and

(c) the compressibility sum rule (number conservation).

The importance of (a) in mesoscopic transport is well known. Unfortunately, that of (b) and (c) is not well known at all. All three rules are equally pivotal; all three must be satisfied. None of the three is optional; if even one of them is violated by a candidate model of electron transport, that model is manifestly nonviable. Whatever special pleading may be made for it (for example, some fancied phenomenological simplicity), it cannot compensate for basic failures of this order.

Each of the electron-gas sum rules follows a common pattern. Each is an identity in which a measurable function of the one-particle distribution for the system is equated to an integral over a microscopic, two-particle correlation function. Let us briefly examine the FDT as a starting point. In the linear-response limit the FDT provides an expression for the average power $`P`$ in steady state, supplied by the external current generator to the driven system :

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill P& =VI=\underset{t\mathrm{}}{lim}\left\{_0^LE(x)𝑑xj(x,t)/L_I\right\}\hfill & \\ & \underset{t\mathrm{}}{lim}\left\{_0^t𝑑t^{}_0^L𝑑x_0^L𝑑x^{}(E(x))\frac{[j(x,t)/L,j(x^{},t^{})/L]_0}{k_\mathrm{B}T}(E(x^{}))\right\}\hfill & \\ & =\frac{1}{k_\mathrm{B}T}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑t^{\prime \prime }_0^L𝑑x_0^L𝑑x^{}(E(x))[j(x,t^{\prime \prime })/L,j(x^{},0)/L]_0(E(x^{}))\hfill & (1)\hfill \end{array}$$

where we specialize to one dimension. (This will be appropriate to a quantum point contact, in which a quasi-one-dimensional wire is attached to macroscopic metallic leads .) The thermal energy is $`k_\mathrm{B}T`$, the electromotive force across the conductor of length $`L`$ is $`V=_0^LE(x)𝑑x`$ and $`I`$ is the current. The brackets $`\mathrm{}_I`$ represent a trace over the many-body density matrix for the carriers, subject to transport (for $`I=0`$ it is the equilibrium trace), and $`j(x,t)=ev(x,t)`$ is the particle-flux operator (to be evaluated in the mean over the channel length, following the Ramo-Shockley theorem ).

The form of Eq. (1) is paradigmatic. On the left we have the experimentally accessible total power absorbed by the system. On the right, we have the auto-correlation function of the microscopic power-loss density $`E(x)j(x,t)/L`$, which is not directly accessible. The velocity-velocity correlation $`[v(t),v(0)]/k_\mathrm{B}T`$ is a measure of the excursions of carrier energy taken up by electron-hole pair fluctuations. As the excited pair states propagate, scatter and decay, their excess energy dissipates. Conservation requires that these losses add up to the total electrical power continuously supplied by the generator. Equation (1) expresses this.

In a uniform system, the local electric field $`E=V/L`$ is constant. We obtain the standard Kubo conductance formula

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill G& =\frac{P}{V^2}=\frac{1}{k_\mathrm{B}T}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑t_0^L𝑑x\frac{E(x)}{V}_0^L𝑑x^{}\frac{E(x^{})}{V}[j(x,t),j(x^{},0)]/L^2\hfill & \\ & \frac{1}{L^2k_\mathrm{B}T}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑t[j(t),j(0)].\hfill & (2)\hfill \end{array}$$

For inhomogeneous systems the sum rule for conductance has a more general, but conceptually identical, structure. This is covered more closely in Ref. .

The demonstration of the Kubo formula’s gauge invariance for an open system was given in explicit detail by Sols . Having been established, it furnishes necessary and sufficient criteria for the system’s theoretical description to be microscopically and globally conserving. This contrasts with the status of gauge invariance within Landauer-Büttiker-Imry approaches; see, for example, the commentary in Ref.  following Eq. (51) therein. Eq. (2) leads directly to the quantized Landauer formula as a (very particular) limiting case whose microscopic proof is free of the customary Landauer phenomenology . As Eqs. (9)–(11) below demonstrate, the latter badly compromises both gauge invariance and the compressibility sum rule.

3. CONSERVATION IN OPEN CONDUCTORS

The FDT’s far-reaching importance derives from the following. The conductance $`G`$, which is directly measurable, can be computed as a one-particle object within a given transport model. If, using the same model, one computes the two-body current auto-correlation (which also determines the measurable Johnson-Nyquist noise), then it must yield precisely the same value of $`G`$. That value may, or may not, turn out to be a good fit to experiment. For the model’s integrity, however, the essential point is that the consistency of the FDT has to be guaranteed internally. Otherwise the physical basis of such a description is flawed, since it fails to conserve energy. It would then be difficult to take such a description seriously.

A similarly fundamental and normative significance attaches to the compressibility sum rule for open conductors, which we now derive. Consider a conductor in electrical contact with a pair of large metallic reservoirs, so that electrons are freely exchangeable. At equilibrium, the whole assembly is strictly neutral. We attach a current generator across the interfaces between the leads and the device, to drive a current $`I`$ through the structure; from the viewpoint of the nonequilibrium carriers within the conductor, the interfaces appear as an external source and sink for the current.

In this nonequilibrium situation, three boundary conditions apply without qualification:

$``$thermodynamic equilibrium of the reservoirs. Away from the disturbed device and its interface regions, the electron population is equilibrated and stable at any value of $`I`$. Thus the local electron density $`n(\mu ,T)`$ in each lead is unchanged as a function of the equilibrium chemical potential $`\mu `$ and bath temperature $`T`$.

$``$Charge neutrality of the reservoirs. Within a well-defined finite range beyond the interfaces, strong metallic screening ensures the neutrality of the reservoir carriers with their ionic background, once again independently of $`I`$.

$``$Charge neutrality of the driven device. Since global neutrality and that of the individual reservoir leads are each preserved, the neutrality of the intervening, current-bearing conductor is secured for all values of the current. (Note: an independent formal proof of this criterion comes from the global gauge-invariance theorem for open conductors .)

Suppose that the bounded region in which the electrons are appreciably disturbed (namely the device with its interfaces) has volume $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ and contains $`N`$ mobile electrons on average. The electrons are fully compensated at all times. Hence the neutrality conditions are equivalent to the statement that

$$\frac{\delta N}{\delta I}=0=\frac{\delta \mathrm{\Omega }}{\delta I}\mathrm{for}\mathrm{all}I.$$
$`(3)`$
In a time-dependent situation, the electron distribution function is the trace of the local-number quantum operator $`\rho _𝐤(𝐫,t)`$ with the nonequilibrium density matrix in the presence of the current:

$$f_𝐤(𝐫,t;I)=\rho _𝐤(𝐫,t)_I$$

in which $`𝐤`$ and $`𝐫`$ are, respectively, the wave-vector and real-space labels (spin and valley indices are subsumed in $`𝐤`$, and we assign the effective volume normalization $`(2\pi )^\nu `$ to it). It follows that

$$_\mathrm{\Omega }𝑑𝐫\frac{d𝐤}{(2\pi )^\nu }f_𝐤(𝐫,t;I)=N=_\mathrm{\Omega }𝑑𝐫\frac{d𝐤}{(2\pi )^\nu }f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫).$$
$`(4)`$
Since absolute neutrality holds, the number of carriers in the active region cannot change from the equilibrium value determined by the distribution $`f^{\mathrm{eq}}\rho _{I=0}`$.

An immediate result of this identity is that any fluctuation, $`\delta N`$, in $`N`$ is determined equally well by the corresponding fluctuation in $`f_𝐤(𝐫,t;I)`$ out of equilibrium, as it is by that in $`f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)`$ at equilibrium. Therefore

$$_\mathrm{\Omega }𝑑𝐫\frac{d𝐤}{(2\pi )^\nu }\delta f_𝐤(𝐫,t;I)=\delta N=_\mathrm{\Omega }𝑑𝐫\frac{d𝐤}{(2\pi )^\nu }\delta f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫).$$
$`(5)`$
This establishes the perfect-screening sum rule in its most general form.

4. NONEQUILIBRIUM COMPRESSIBILITY SUM RULE

We may now vary the population $`N`$ systematically with respect to the chemical potential, a procedure that takes its shape from the response of the equilibrium state. In the important case of the free electron gas, we know the resulting analytical expressions:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)& =\frac{1}{1+\mathrm{exp}[(\epsilon _𝐤+U_0(𝐫)\mu )/k_\mathrm{B}T]};\hfill & \\ \hfill \frac{f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)}{\mu }& =\frac{1}{k_\mathrm{B}T}f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)(1f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)).\hfill & (6)\hfill \end{array}$$

Note that we incorporate the static mean-field potential $`U_0(𝐫)`$ at equilibrium. This is set up whenever the system has inhomogeneities built into it.

Recalling that $`\mathrm{\Delta }f^{\mathrm{eq}}=k_\mathrm{B}Tf^{\mathrm{eq}}/\mu `$ defines the mean-square thermal fluctuation of the equilibrium occupation number , the corresponding nonequilibrium fluctuation $`\mathrm{\Delta }f(t)`$ must satisfy

$$_\mathrm{\Omega }𝑑𝐫\frac{d𝐤}{(2\pi )^\nu }\mathrm{\Delta }f_𝐤(𝐫,t;I)=\mathrm{\Delta }N=_\mathrm{\Omega }𝑑𝐫\frac{d𝐤}{(2\pi )^\nu }\mathrm{\Delta }f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)$$
$`(7)`$
where the mean-square total number fluctuation is $`\mathrm{\Delta }N=k_\mathrm{B}TN/\mu `$. This identity, emerging straight out of the perfect-screening rule, is the heart of the compressibility sum rule.

What does it mean, physically, to subject $`f_𝐤(𝐫,t;I)`$ – an inherently nonequilibrium object – to a variation with respect to $`\mu `$, an equilibrium parameter? The answer is straightforward. Whether at equilibrium or not, the asymptotic density of carriers in the macroscopic leads remains unchanged. They sense nothing of the conditions (possibly extreme) that dominate the driven region. On the other hand, the density in the leads is directly controlled by the chemical potential local to each reservoir. This local value is unique, completely unaffected by the current, and proper to the local conduction band. Changing $`\mu `$ is equivalent to replacing the neutral reservoirs at electron density $`n(\mu )`$, say, with neutral reservoirs at the new density $`n(\mu +\delta \mu )`$. At equilibrium, that is the variation’s physical meaning. Because of perfect screening, the variational procedure remains well defined even when a current is exciting the sample, all the while connected to its large stabilizing leads. Perfect screening confines such a disturbance absolutely to the finite region $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. Nothing else is touched.

The compressibility sum rule for an open mesoscopic system can now be formulated. At equilibrium, the rule states that the compressibility $`\kappa `$ for $`N`$ mobile particles in volume $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is given by

$$\kappa =\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }}{N^2}\frac{N}{\mu }=\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }}{Nk_\mathrm{B}T}\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }N}{N}.$$
$`(8)`$
Note especially that $`\kappa `$ is and must always remain independent of any transport parameter. This distinguishes Eq. (8) from the fluctuation-dissipation relation and Kubo formula.

The compressibility is the inverse of the stiffness (bulk modulus) of a many-particle system, which determines its sound velocity. Hence, customarily, $`\kappa `$ has been investigated through sound-velocity measurements. The pattern typical of the right-hand side of Eq. (2) is repeated here; in analogy with the FDT, it is determined by an integral (equation (7)) of the microscopic electron-hole pair correlation, whose static limit is $`f^{\mathrm{eq}}/\mu `$. For a careful exposition, see Ref. .

It is clear from Eqs. (3), (4) and (7) that, since all the quantities on the right-hand side of the compressibility sum rule are independent of $`I`$,

$``$the compressibility of an open mesoscopic conductor is strictly invariant under transport.

This is the principal result that we wish to recall. It articulates the conservation of particle number, just as perfect screening expresses the general gauge invariance of a conducting system.

5. APPLICATIONS

a. Violations of the compressibility sum rule

We are ready to revisit and judge some theoretical assumptions that have gained currency in recent mesoscopic research . Though plausible at first blush, they turn out to vitiate the sum-rule structure of any transport model relying on them. In place of the gauge-invariant and microscopically canonical prescription of current-driven transport presented above, let us instead posit ad hoc that the current in a narrow mesoscopic conductor is sustained purely by a difference of chemical potentials between an upstream and a downstream electron reservoir ,,.

Assume, for argument, that the density differential $`n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}})n(\mu _{\mathrm{dn}})`$ induced across the sample by the upstream and downstream chemical potentials, $`\mu _{\mathrm{up}}`$ and $`\mu _{\mathrm{dn}}`$, causes a diffusive-like current. Assume too that the electromotive force measured across the interfaces is $`V=(\mu _{\mathrm{dn}}\mu _{\mathrm{up}})/e`$ (and note that it makes no difference at all to the generality of the argument, whether $`V`$ is static or time-dependent; cf Eqs. (4) & (5)).

The density profile along the conductor will be some function $`n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}}eV(x))`$, taking the boundary values $`n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}})`$ and $`n(\mu _{\mathrm{dn}})`$ at the ends of the sample. According to such an account, in the linear-response limit the total number of carriers in the active structure of length $`L`$ changes, under transport, by an amount

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill N(V)N(0)& =_0^L[n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}}eV(x))n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}})]𝑑x\hfill & \\ & _0^L\frac{dn}{d\mu _{\mathrm{up}}}(eV(x))𝑑x\hfill & \\ & \mathrm{\Delta }N(0)\frac{eV}{2k_\mathrm{B}T}.\hfill & (9)\hfill \end{array}$$

The result is patently counter to Eq. (4), and consequently also breaks the compressibility sum rule.

If the mooted pseudo-diffusive arrangement is not to violate the mandatory invariance of total particle number for any driven, necessarily neutral, mesoscopic structure, the nominal density difference $`n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}})n(\mu _{\mathrm{dn}})`$ which causes the current (and so the current itself) cannot be accorded a standard physical meaning. This makes any conclusions drawn from such a picture hard – if not impossible – to interpret in a rational way.

The only escape from that unpalatable outcome is to allow effectively arbitrary inflows and outflows of charge between the device and its leads. In the event, the device cannot stay neutral under transport; there is always an uncompensated excess (or deficit) of carriers. Such a dilution of the perfect screening sum rule immediately destroys gauge invariance . In any case, one or more of the sum rules is countermanded. Transport arguments based on this scenario are unphysical.

At this stage we have addressed only a single-electron view of the compressibility within pseudo-diffusive transport. However, at the level of the electron-hole pair correlations, the sum-rule violation is far worse (if that is possible). To make the point we take a representative pseudo-diffusive fluctuation analysis, that of Martin and Landauer . In their theory, the current-current correlation function is synthesized from the set of all possible quantum-transmission outcomes that involve a single electron scattering off the core region of a one-dimensional quantum point contact. Its (constant) transmission probability is taken to be $`𝒯`$, where $`0𝒯1`$. Applying Eqs. (2.6)–(2.15) of Ref. , the total one-electron “fluctuation”, say $`\mathrm{d}N`$, can be obtained. This determines every quantity of experimental interest. We apply it now to the compressibility within the model.

Before doing so, it is vital to distinguish $`\mathrm{d}N`$ from the microscopically prescribed number fluctuation

$$\delta N(f^{\mathrm{eq}}/\mu )\delta \mu $$

appearing in the perfect-screening sum rule, Eq. (5). $`\delta N`$ represents the intrinsically correlated electron-hole excitations: the conservation laws that govern electron-hole pair processes means that these are irreducible two-body objects . On the other hand, $`\mathrm{d}N`$ is strictly constructed as a sum of one-body quantities.

The model at hand, and its closely related cousins , take the single-carrier $`\mathrm{d}N`$ – not the two-body $`\delta N`$ – as the fundamental fluctuation. Therefore the true pair correlations, crucial to the fluctuation structure of the electron gas, are missing. Here the tacit assumption is, instead, that a fermionic particle-hole pair is always reducible to two kinematically uncorrelated, quite independent, single-particle excitation factors. Such an assumption is entirely contrary to basic Fermi-liquid theory ,.

Following construction of the single-electron $`\mathrm{d}N`$ after Ref. , we arrive at the mean-square expectation $`\mathrm{\Delta }N`$ over the quantum point contact:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \mathrm{\Delta }N& (\mathrm{d}N)^2\mathrm{d}N^2=L\frac{n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}})}{2\epsilon _\mathrm{F}}\left[𝒯^2k_\mathrm{B}T+𝒯(1𝒯)\frac{\mu _{\mathrm{up}}\mu _{\mathrm{dn}}}{2}\mathrm{coth}\left(\frac{\mu _{\mathrm{up}}\mu _{\mathrm{dn}}}{2k_\mathrm{B}T}\right)\right]\hfill & \\ & =N\frac{k_\mathrm{B}T}{2\epsilon _\mathrm{F}}\left[𝒯+\frac{𝒯(1𝒯)}{3}\left(\frac{eV}{2k_\mathrm{B}T}\right)^2+𝒪\left((eV/2k_\mathrm{B}T)^4\right)\right],\hfill & (10)\hfill \end{array}$$

where $`\epsilon _\mathrm{F}`$ is the Fermi energy at density $`n(\mu _{\mathrm{up}})`$ in the uniform wire (the Martin-Landauer model works only in the degenerate-electron limit $`\epsilon _\mathrm{F}k_\mathrm{B}T`$). To leading order in the voltage, the theory duly predicts the transport-dependent ratio

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }N}{N}=\left[\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }N}{N}\right]_{\mathrm{CSR}}\left[𝒯+\frac{𝒯(1𝒯)}{3}\left(\frac{eV}{2k_\mathrm{B}T}\right)^2\right]$$
$`(11)`$
in which

$$\left[\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }N}{N}\right]_{\mathrm{CSR}}=\frac{k_\mathrm{B}T}{2\epsilon _\mathrm{F}}$$

is the equilibrium ratio of the total mean-square number fluctuation to total carrier number as it appears in the transport-invariant compressibility sum rule, Eq. (8).

Equation (11) clearly contradicts the invariance of Eq. (8). Even at equilibrium, the total mean-square fluctuation $`\mathrm{\Delta }N`$ in pseudo-diffusive theories depends on the transport parameter $`𝒯`$. In the strong backscattering limit it will vanish with $`𝒯`$.

The electronic compressibility cannot depend on any transport parameter. As we saw in the previous section, $`\kappa `$ is an equilibrium property completely insensitive to external sources of elastic scattering (such as potential barriers) which determine the transmission fraction $`𝒯`$. Thus Eq. (11) fails to recover the physically required compressibility at equilibrium, much less away from it. Nor can one appeal to Coulomb effects here, since this spurious result is derived for noninteracting one-dimensional conduction electrons.

b. Electronic compressibility in nonuniform quantum channels

We turn our attention to some unexplored mesoscopic implications of the compressibility sum rule. When the conduction band of a quantum point contact, or similar device, differs from that of its bulk leads, there will be contact potentials at the interfaces. In Eq. (6) the mean-field potential $`U_0(𝐫)`$, which vanishes when there is no band mismatch between device and leads, becomes a nontrivial function of the electron density. The complete variation of $`f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)`$ is

$$\frac{\delta f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)}{\delta \mu }=\left(1\frac{\delta U_0(𝐫)}{\delta \mu }\right)\frac{f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)}{\mu }|_{U_0}.$$
$`(12)`$
Since

$$\frac{\delta n(𝐫)}{\delta \mu }=\frac{d𝐤}{(2\pi )^\nu }\frac{\delta f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)}{\delta \mu },$$

the implicit Eq. (12) can be solved by integrating over $`𝐤`$ on both sides, and feeding back into it the leading right-hand factor in closed form. The result is

$$\frac{\delta f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)}{\delta \mu }=\frac{1}{1+{\displaystyle \frac{dU_0}{dn}}{\displaystyle \frac{n(𝐫)}{\mu }}}\frac{f_𝐤^{\mathrm{eq}}(𝐫)}{\mu }.$$
$`(13)`$
An easy case to analyze is a uniform wire. Then $`U_0`$ is constant over most of the wire’s length, except in the neighborhood of the interfaces where the band mismatch forces $`U_0`$ to vary. The leading factor on the right-hand side of Eq. (13) is nearly constant everywhere. Denote it by $`\gamma `$. It appears as an additional factor in the total compressibility for our inhomogeneous system:

$$\kappa \frac{\mathrm{\Omega }}{N^2}\frac{\delta N}{\delta \mu }=\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }}{Nk_\mathrm{B}T}\frac{\gamma \mathrm{\Delta }N}{N}.$$
$`(14)`$
The self-screening response of the contact potential substantially modifies the compressibility that would otherwise be observed in the absence of band inhomogeneity. Such effects are particularly strong in III-V heterojunction quantum-well structures .

We state the corollary of the perfect-screening Eq. (5) in this situation. It is the nonequilibrium compressibility sum rule for inhomogeneous mesoscopic systems (see Ref.  for its mathematical grounding).

$``$The compressibility of a nonuniform mesoscopic conductor, driven at any current, is invariant and its form is given by Eq. (14).

This is a surprising result, for it asserts that, even with the large changes in the carrier distribution of a device subjected to high current, there is no change at all in its electronic compressibility. That quantity is fixed, once and for all, by the electrostatic response of the contact potential at equilibrium.

The Coulomb-induced suppression of compressibility correlates closely with the analogous suppression theoretically anticipated for high-field current noise in heterojunction based, quasi-two-dimensional wires . The nonequilibrium excess noise of such a structure is accessible . It could be systematically measured, and direct comparison made with studies of the static compressibility in the same sample.

5. SUMMARY

The main result in this work is the “rigidity” of the electronic compressibility in a mesoscopic wire, in the sense that it cannot respond in any way to the internal Coulomb effects that alter the nonequilibrium arrangements inside the conductor. That rigidity, coming from the utter dominance of the boundary conditions in mesoscopic transport, is striking evidence of the power and reach of the conservation laws. Novel experiments in this context, especially the comparative examination of static and fluctuation responses, would therefore be of interest.

We recapitulate our findings. The conserving sum rules are universal constraints that apply to any system of mobile electrons. They express the basic conservation laws through a set of relations between, on the one hand, one-body properties that are measurable (conductance, particle number, compressibility) and, on the other hand, expectation values of microscopically calculable, two-body correlation functions.

Sum rules embody the unified origin of single- and many-particle behavior in the electron gas. We have shown that the principal sum rules for energy dissipation, charge neutrality and number conservation are core properties of a mesoscopic conductor. Their consequences are directly observable in the laboratory. A key quantity for experimental investigation is the compressibility.

The implications of the compressibility sum rule have not previously been studied in the mesoscopic setting. In sharp contrast with its crucial and long-established role in electron-gas physics , this property has not had any attention paid to it by more popularly accepted phenomenologies of mesoscopic transport and noise ,,. It is not so astonishing, then, to find that the compressibility sum rule is violated by such approaches.

Through the gauge invariance of the boundary conditions and their overriding influence on internal carrier dynamics, it may indeed be said that the conservation laws and their leading sum rules instill the very meaning of “mesoscopic” conduction. Therefore a microscopically credible description of mesoscopics must satisfy all these rules, not just a subset, else the description is faulty. Its reliability is void of any guarantee – notwithstanding any perceived empirical or cosmetic merits.

We appear to be enjoying a phase of development in mesoscopics wherein heuristically dominated theory-making is much to be preferred over labor-intensive, assiduously orthodox and microscopically correct analyses of electron transport. In such a climate, Sir Francis Bacon’s old warning against subjective confections of knowledge remains apt today:

God forbid that we should give out a dream of our imagination for a pattern of the world.

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