In this thesis, we investigate the quantum transport properties of disordered three dimensional topological insulator (3DTI) nanostructures of BiSe and BiTe in detail. Despite their intrinsic bulk conductivity, we show the possibility to study the specific transport properties of the topological surface states (TSS), either with or without quantum confinement. Importantly, we demonstrate that unusual transport properties not only come from the Dirac nature of the quasi-particles, but also from their spin texture. Without quantum confinement (wide ribbons), the transport properties of diffusive 2D spin-helical Dirac fermions are investigated. Using high magnetic fields allows us to measure and separate all contributions to charge transport. Band bending is investigated in BiSe nanostructures, revealing an inversion from upward to downward bending when decreasing the bulk doping. This result points out the need to control simultaneously both the bulk and surface residual doping in order to produce bulk-depleted nanostructures and to study TSS only. Moreover, Shubnikov-de-Haas oscillations and transconductance measurements are used to measure the ratio of the transport length to the electronic mean free path ltr/le. This ratio is measured to be close to one for bulk states, whereas it is close to 8 for TSS, which is a hallmark of the anisotropic scattering of spin-helical Dirac fermions. With transverse quantum confinement (narrow wires or ribbons), the ballistic transport of quasi-1D surface modes is evidenced by mesoscopic transport measurements, and specific properties due to their topological nature are revealed at very low temperatures. The metallic surface states are directly evidenced by the measure of periodic Aharonov-Bohm oscillations (ABO) in 3DTI nanowires. Their exponential temperature dependence gives an unusual power-law temperature dependence of the phase coherence length, which is interpreted in terms of quasi-ballistic transport and decoherence in the weak-coupling regime. This remarkable finding is a consequence of the enhanced transport length, which is comparable to the perimeter. Besides, the ballistic transport of quasi-1D surface modes is further evidenced by the observation of non-universal conductance fluctuations in a BiSe nanowire, despite the long-length limit (L > ltr) and a high metallicity (many modes). We show that such an unusual property for a mesoscopic conductor is related to the limited mixing of the transverse modes by disorder, as confirmed by numerical calculations. Importantly, a model based on the modes' transmissions allows us to describe our experimental results, including the full temperature dependence of the ABO amplitude.

No description available.

Recent advances in the chemical vapor deposition method of growing graphene sheets suggest that graphene rings can grow. We may anticipate that chemical methods can be developed to construct twisted nano-ribbons to form Möbius structures in the very near future. I investigated the quantum mechanics of an electron constrained to motion on a nanoscale Möbius ring by solving the Schrdinger equation on the curved surface. The close analogy between ordinary cylindrical rings and Möbius rings is displayed by the closeness of their energy spectra. The expectation values for the angular momentum component L_z are shown to be close, but not exactly equal, to integral or half-integral multiples of hbar. The half-integer angular momentum states are present only for the nontrivial topology of Möbius rings. The effect of the curvature of the Möbius rings manifests itself in the level splitting. This can be understood in terms of representations of the discrete rotational groups C_nv. The nonzero variance of L_z will allow weak transitions between integral and half-integral angular momentum states, while preserving the unit angular momentum for photons. Again, since the topology of the system is critical for the Aharonov-Bohm effect, I investigated the AB effect on Möbius rings and found a remarkable pattern in transmission through finite-width 2D ring structures with finite-width input and output contacts attached at the periphery. The periodicity in the magnetic flux, in units of h/e, is weakly broken on 2D rings of finite width. The unusual states with half-integer values of observed on Möbius rings, investigated earlier, display a different characteristic in transmission. In view of the fascinating properties displayed by the non-trivial topology in terms of its novel two-dimensional physics, we expect that the properties of carriers on the Möbius ring that we have presented here will be relevant for practical applications.

Les travaux de recherche exposés dans cette habilitation sont essentiellement basés sur l'étude mathématique d'un système physique électromagnétique, le fil directeur étant le phénomène de Aharonov-Bohm. On commence par faire l'analyse semiclassique du propagateur (ou noyau intégral du groupe unitaire du système) à temps petit. Cette étude permet de faire apparaître l'effet Aharonov-Bohm comme une perturbation de phase du propagateur, due à la circulation du potentiel magnétique le long d'orbites classiques situées en dehors du champ magnétique. Nous passons ensuite à l'étude de la diffusion quantique d'un système électromagnétique. Dans ce cas-là, la situation est totalement différente du cas potentiel électrostatique seul : un champ magnétique même a support compact peut engendrer un potentiel magnétique ne dépassant la décroissance coulombienne, et donc a priori à longue portée. Nous démontrons l'existence et la complétude des opérateurs d'ondes (déjà obtenues par Loss et Thaller) à l'aide d'une méthode stationnaire. Cette nouvelle approche permet l'étude des matrices de diffusion grâce à une formule de représentation adaptée. Nous verrons que le spectre essentiel des matrices de diffusion peut recouvrir le cercle unité, comme l'ont démontré Roux et Yafaev. Cette situation est complètement nouvelle : dans le cas d'une perturbation électrostatique a courte portée, la matrice de diffusion est une perturbation compacte de l'identité. Nous ferons ensuite l'étude du problème de diffusion inverse à l'aide d'une approche stationnaire. Il s'agit d'une méthode nouvelle, simple et robuste, proche d'une idée due à Isozaki et Kitada. L'idée est d'introduire dans la définition des opérateurs d'onde un modificateur, type opérateur Fourier intégral, qui permet d'obtenir très facilement l'asymptotique à haute énergie de l'opérateur de diffusion. Notons que cette approche permet également de traiter le cas longue portée. Nous généralisons ainsi les résultats obtenus par Enss et Weder dans le cas d'opérateur de Schrödinger avec potentiel électrostatique seul, à l'aide d'une méthode dépendant du temps. Le problème de diffusion directe et inverse dans le cas d'opérateurs de Schrödinger avec obstacle convexe est étudié dans le but de modéliser le phénomène de Aharonov-Bohm. En dimension supérieure à 3, l'opérateur de diffusion caractérise le potentiel électrique et le champ magnétique. En dimension 2, par contre, nous donnons une condition nécessaire d'obstruction liée à une quantification du flux magnétique. Nous étudions ensuite un problème de diffusion inverse dans le cas où l'opérateur de diffusion est localisé près d'une énergie fixée. Nous montrons que l'approche stationnaire déjà utilisée est tout a fait appropriée pour traiter ce problème (et même le cas longue portée) en effectuant un changement d'échelle et en utilisant des paquets d'onde soigneusement choisis. Nous retrouvons ainsi l'asymptotique complète du potentiel électrostatique a l'infini. Ces résultats sont proches de ceux obtenus par Joshi et Sa Barreto utilisant des techniques assez sophistiquées à la Melrose-Zworski, d'opérateur Fourier intégraux et de distributions Lagrangiennes. Nous étudions également un problème de diffusion inverse pour des Hamiltoniens avec un champ électrique constant (effet Stark) et un potentiel à courte portée générique. Nous montrons qu'en dimension supérieure ou égale à trois, l'opérateur de diffusion caractérise le potentiel. Ce résultat est obtenu à l'aide de la méthode dépendant du temps de Enss-Weder et généralise un théorème dû a Weder qui supposait une décroissance plus forte du potentiel électrostatique. Enfin, nous étudions un problème de diffusion inverse pour un Hamiltonien libre avec potentiel répulsif. Nous montrons que sous des hypothèses convenables de décroissance du potentiel électrostatique, la perturbation est uniquement déterminée par l'asymptotique à haute énergie de l'opérateur de diffusion.

The kicked-rotor under the Aharonov-Bohm effect are studyed by using the floquet map, the energy change with different magnetic flux have also being discussed. Finally, the kicked-rotor under the time-dependent magnetic flux are discussed.

The fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effect harbors a wealth of unique phenomena, many of which remain mysterious. Of particular interest is the predicted existence of quasi-particles with unusual topological properties, especially in light of recent proposals to observe these properties using electronic interferometers. An introduction to quantum Hall physics and electronic interferometry is given in Chapter 1 of this thesis. The remaining chapters, summarized below, describe a set of experiments in which FQH systems are studied using electronic Fabry-Perot interferometry and related techniques. Since prior studies of electronic Fabry-Perot interferometers revealed unexpected behavior even in the integer quantum Hall (IQH) regime, we began our measurements there. Our initial experiment, presented in Chapter 2, disentangles signatures of Coulomb interaction effects from those of Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interference and provides the first measurement of pure AB interference in these devices. In our next experiment, presented in Chapter 3, we measure AB interference oscillations as a function of an applied dc bias, use their period to study the velocity of the interfering electrons, and study how the oscillations decay as a function of bias and magnetic field. Moving to the FQH regime, applying a similar-sized bias to a quantum point contact leads to long-lasting changes in the strengths and positions of FQH plateaus. The involvement of lattice nuclear spins in this effect, suggested by the long persistence times, is confirmed using NMR-type measurements. Although the exact physical process responsible for the effect remains unclear, its filling-factor dependence provides a striking illustration of composite fermion physics. These measurements are described in Chapter 4. In certain devices, interference oscillations associated with several FQH states are observed. Interpretation of their magnetic-field and gate-voltage periods provides a measurement of quasi-particle charge, and temperature dependence measurements suggest differences between the edge structure of IQH and FQH states. These measurements are described in Chapter 5. Finally, Chapter 6 presents some recent, not-yet-published observations that may shed light on ways to improve the visibility of existing oscillations and potentially observe interference at additional FQH states. This chapter concludes with a discussion of possible next steps toward achieving these goals. / Physics

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:27:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2634.pdf: 730847 bytes, checksum: 78e230f57f2f8d462d8fe0f28ef3dae7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-10-05 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / In this work we present a study of topics related to the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) e®ect. Our framework is that of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and we use the point of view of mathematical physics. (1) We study the solenoid of finite length and zero radius and compare their self- adjoint extensions with the known case of the solenoid of infinite length and also of zero radius in the plane. (2) By considering an infinitely long cylindrical solenoid of radius greater than zero, mainly in the plane, we present a classification of all self-adjoint SchrÄodinger operators (i.e., the possible boundary conditions on the solenoid border) that mathematically could characterize the AB operator, whose domains are contained in the natural space of twice weakly di®erentiable functions (and, of course, also square integrable). (3) We then consider the traditional Dirichlet, Neumann and Robin boundary conditions on the solenoid border and calculate and compare their scattering matrices and cross sections. Hopefully this could be used to experimentally select one of such extensions. (4) Finally, we discuss a theoretical mechanism we propose to select and so justify the usual AB hamiltonian with Dirichlet boundary conditions on the solenoid. This is obtained by way of increasing sequences of finitely long solenoids together with a natural impermeability procedure; further, it is shown that both limits commute. Such rigorous limits are in the strong resolvent sense. / Neste trabalho apresentamos um estudo de tópicos relacionados ao Efeito Aharonov- Bohm (AB). Nossa abordagem é a da mecânica quântica não-relativística e usamos o ponto de vista da física-matemática. (1) Estudamos o solenóide de comprimento ¯nito de raio zero e comparamos suas extensões auto-adjuntas com as do caso conhecido do solenóide de comprimento infinito também de raio zero no plano. (2) Considerando um solenóide cilíndrico infinito de raio maior do que zero, principalmente no plano, apresentamos uma classificação de todos os operadores de SchrÄodinger auto-adjuntos (isto é, as possíveis condições de fronteira na borda do solenóide) que matematicamente poderiam caracterizar o operador AB, cujos domínios estão contidos no espaço natural das funções duas vezes fracamente diferenciáveis (e, natural- mente, também de quadrado integrável). (3) Então consideramos as tradicionais condições de fronteira de Dirichlet, Neumann e Robin na borda do solenóide e calculamos e comparamos seus operadores de espalhamento e seções de choque. Esperamos que com tal estudo uma dessas extensões auto-adjuntas possa ser selecionada experimentalmente. (4) Final- mente, discutimos um mecanismo teórico que propomos para selecionar, e assim justificar, o usual hamiltoniano de AB com condições de Dirichlet na fronteira do solenóide. Isto é obtido por meio de uma sequência crescente de solenóides de comprimentos finitos junto com um procedimento natural de impermeabilização; além disso, mostramos que ambos os limites comutam. Tais limites rigorosos são no sentido forte do resolvente.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:14:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1192098 bytes, checksum: 690fbe77953ec5a5854ba7d642c29a4f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2000-09-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Os fatores de fase geométricos e topológicos têm sido objeto de grande interesse em diferentes áreas da f´sica. Nas teorias de gauge não-Abelianas, essas quantidades foram usadas no estudo de propriedades, como, por exemplo, o confinamento de quarks na cromodinâmica quântica. No contexto da mecânica quântica, a fase geométrica aparece na evolução de um sistema cuja Hamiltoniana é dependente do tempo, e é de fundamental importância no contexto da gravitação. Os fatores de fase também foram usados para se obter uma descrição da teoria independente de gauge. Nesta tese usamos o fator de fase nas teorias da gravitação de Einstein e Kaluza-Klein para investigar o efeito Aharonov-Bohm, caracterizar globalmente alguns espaços-tempos e estudar o aparecimento da fase de Berry e suas relações com os parâmetros que caracterizam os espaços-tempos considerados. Investigamos também, como o fator de fase no espaço-tempo de Kerr-Newman com defeito cônico, depende da rotação e da presença do defeito.

No description available.

The study of quantum interference in solid-state systems yields insight in fundamental properties of mesoscopic systems. Electron quantum interference constitutes an important method to explore mesoscopic physics and quantum decoherence. This dissertation focuses on two-dimensional (2D) electron systems in $delta-$Si doped n-type In$_{0.64}$Ga$_{0.36}$As/In$_{0.45}$Al$_{0.55}$As, 2D hole systems in Si-doped p-type GaAs/Al$_{0.35}$Ga$_{0.65}$As and C-doped p-type GaAs/\Al$_{0.24}$Ga$_{0.76}$As heterostructures. The low temperature experiments study the magnetotransport of nano- and micro-scale lithographically defined devices fabricated on the heterostructures. These devices include a single ring interferometer and a ring interferometer array in 2D electron system, Hall bar geometries and narrow wires in 2D hole systems. The single ring interferometer yields pronounced Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations with magnetic flux periodicity of h/e over a wide range of magnetic field. The periodicity was confirmed by Fourier transformation of the oscillations. The AB oscillation amplitude shows a quasi-periodic modulation over applied magnetic field due to local magnetic flux threading through the interferometer arms. Further study of current and temperature dependence of the amplitude of the oscillations indicates that the Thouless energy forms the measure of excitation energies giving quantum decoherence. An in-plane magnetic field was applied to the single ring interferometer to study the Berry's phase and the Aharonov-Casher effect. The ring interferometer array yields both AB oscillations and Altshuler-Aronov-Spivak (AAS) oscillations, the latter with magnetic flux periodicity of h/2e. The AAS oscillations require time-reversal symmetry and hence can be used to qualify time-reversal symmetry breaking. More importantly, the fundamental mesoscopic dephasing length associated with time-reversal symmetry breaking under applied magnetic field, an effective magnetic length, can be obtained by the analysis of the AAS oscillations over magnetic field. A theoretical model for confined ballistic system is confirmed by experimental data fitting. The AAS oscillations are barely resolved above 0.16 T and their amplitude decays with increasing magnetic field. The AB oscillations exist till above 2 T and their amplitude doesn't show the monotonic decay with increasing magnetic field. The different behavior of the AAS and AB oscillations originates in the different symmetries, respectively temporal and spatial, that they are sensitive to. The p-type 2D GaAs system has strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI). Antilocalization in a Hall bar geometry was analyzed by the 2D Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) theory to obtain the spin coherence time and phase coherence time. The 2D hole systems we studied have low density and high mobility, quite different from the 2D electron systems. These high-quality 2D hole systems demonstrate semi-classical ballistic phenomena in mesoscopic structures preferentially to quantum-coherence phenomena. / Ph. D.