Coulomb "blockade" of Nuclear Spin Relaxation in Quantum Dots

Y. B. Lyanda-Geller, I. L. Aleiner, B. L. Altshuler

Published 2001-12-01, updated 2002-05-24Version 3

We study the mechanism of nuclear spin relaxation in quantum dots due to the electron exchange with 2D gas. We show that the nuclear spin relaxation rate is dramatically affected by the Coulomb blockade and can be controlled by gate voltage. In the case of strong spin-orbit coupling the relaxation rate is maximal in the Coulomb blockade valleys whereas for the weak spin-orbit coupling the maximum of the nuclear spin relaxation rate is near the Coulomb blockade peaks.