Negative result measurements in mesoscopic systems

We investigate measurement of electron transport in quantum dot systems by using single-electron transistor as a noninvasive detector. It is demonstrated that such a detector can operate in the ``negative-result measurement'' regime. In this case the measured current is not distorted, providing that it is a non-coherent one. For a coherent transport, however, the possibility of observing a particular state out of coherent superposition leads to distortion of a measured current even in the ``negative-result measurement'' regime. The corresponding decoherence rate is obtained in the framework of quantum rate equations.Comment: supersedes quant-ph/9607029, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Quantum interference in resonant tunneling and single spin measurements

We consider the resonant tunneling through a multi-level system. It is demonstrated that the resonant current displays quantum interference effects due to a possibility of tunneling through different levels. We show that the interference effects are strongly modulated by a relative phase of states carrying the current. This makes it possible to use these effects for measuring the phase difference between resonant states in quantum dots. We extend our model for a description of magnetotransport through the Zeeman doublets. It is shown that, due to spin-flip transitions, the quantum interference effects generate a distinct peak in the shot-noise power spectrum at the frequency of Zeeman splitting. This mechanism explains modulation in the tunneling current at the Larmor frequency observed in scanning tunneling microscope experiments and can be utilized for a single spin measurement.Comment: Some corrections are made. This paper is based on work presented at the 2004 IEEE NTC Quantum Device Technology Worksho