Mesoscopic Stoner instability in open quantum dots: suppression of Coleman-Weinberg mechanism by electron tunneling

Abstract

The mesoscopic Stoner instability is an intriguing manifestation of symmetry breaking in isolated metallic quantum dots, underlined by the competition between single-particle energy and Heisenberg exchange interaction. Here we study this phenomenon in the presence of tunnel coupling to a reservoir. We analyze the spin susceptibility of electrons on the quantum dot for different values of couplings and temperature. Our results indicate the existence of a quantum phase transition at a critical value of the tunneling coupling, which is determined by the Stoner-enhanced exchange interaction. This quantum phase transition is a manifestation of the suppression of the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism of symmetry breaking, induced by coupling to the reservoir.