Waiting time distributions of noninteracting fermions on a tight-binding chain

Abstract

We consider the distribution of waiting times between non-interacting fermions on a tight-binding chain. We calculate the waiting time distribution for a quantum point contact and find a cross-over from Wigner-Dyson statistics at full transmission to Poisson statistics close to pinch-off as predicted by scattering theory. In addition, we consider several quantum dot structures for which we can associate oscillations in the waiting time distributions to internal energy scales of the scatterers. A detailed comparison with scattering theory and generalized master equations is provided. We focus on mesoscopic conductors, but our tight-binding models may also be realized in cold atomic gases.