Quantum criticality out of equilibrium: steady state in a magnetic single-electron transistor

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Nov 13;103(20):206401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.206401. Epub 2009 Nov 9.

Abstract

Quantum critical systems out of equilibrium are of extensive interest, but are difficult to study theoretically. We consider here the steady-state limit of a single-electron transistor with ferromagnetic leads. In equilibrium (i.e., bias voltage V = 0), this system features a continuous quantum phase transition with a critical destruction of the Kondo effect. We construct an exact quantum Boltzmann treatment in a dynamical large-N limit, and determine the universal scaling functions of both the nonlinear conductance and fluctuation-dissipation ratios. We also elucidate the decoherence properties as encoded in the local spin response.