2003/04/25 by Mukunda P. Das, Frederick Green
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mes-hall
published as In Proceedings of XXVI International Workshop on Condensed-Matter Theories, J. da Providencia ed. (Nova Science, New York, 2003) · TeX source; 13 pp; 1 fig
arxiv created 2003/04/25 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
We review the conceptual structure of the Landauer theory of electron transport in the light of quantum kinetics, the orthodox framework for describing conductance at all scales. In a straightforward analysis, we assess popular claims for a rational link between Landauer theory on the one hand, and orthodox microscopics on the other. The need to explicitly include inelastic (dissipative) carrier relaxation is key to any well-posed microscopic model of open-system mesoscopic transport.