Rectification in Luttinger liquids

D. E. Feldman, S. Scheidl, V. M. Vinokur

Published 2004-10-04, updated 2004-10-05Version 2

We investigate the rectification of an ac bias in Luttinger liquids in the presence of an asymmetric potential (the ratchet effect). We show that strong repulsive electron interaction enhances the ratchet current in comparison with Fermi liquid systems, and the I-V curve is strongly asymmetric in the low-voltage regime even for a weak asymmetric potential. At higher voltages the ratchet current exhibits an oscillatory voltage dependence.