Topological Blockade of Transport in Quantum Dot Arrays

Mónica Benito, Michael Niklas, Gloria Platero, Sigmund Kohler

Published 2015-11-04Version 1

We propose a transport blockade mechanism in quantum dot arrays and conducting molecules based on an interplay of Coulomb repulsion and the formation of edge states. As a model we employ a dimer chain that exhibits a topological phase transition. The connection to strongly biased electron source and drain enables transport. The topological transition is manifest in the shot noise properties as it is accompanied by a crossover from bunched electron transport to a Poisson process. We develop for both regions a scenario that can be captured by a rate equation. The resulting analytical expressions for the Fano factor agree well with the numerical solution of a full quantum master equation.