2025/10/23 by Liu, Donghao, Gutman, Dmitri
#FOS: Physical sciences #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.20678
We demonstrate that conductance anomalies can arise in a clean, adiabatic quantum point contact when a channel is partially open. Even for a smooth barrier potential, backscattering induces Friedel oscillations that, via electron interactions, generate a singular correction to the conductance. This correction is maximized when the channel is half-open, resulting in a reduction of conductance. In addition, a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the spin-orbit axis modifies the single-particle spectrum, resulting in conductance oscillations via Fabry-Pérot-type interference, as well as a non-monotonic field dependence of the anomaly. Our findings reveal a universal mechanism by which interactions modify the conductance of an ideal partially open channel and offer a possible explanation for the anomalous features observed in experiments.