Anomalies in the conduction edge of quantum wires

Abstract

We study the conductance threshold of clean nearly straight quantum wires in which an electron is bound. We show that such a system exhibits spin-dependent conductance structures on the rising edge to the first conductance plateau, one near 0.25(2e^2/h), related to a singlet resonance, and one near 0.75(2e^2/h), related to a triplet resonance. As a quantitative example we solve exactly the scattering problem for two-electrons in a wire with circular cross-section and a weak bulge. From the scattering matrix we determine conductance via the Landauer-Buettiker formalism. The conductance anomalies are robust and survive to temperatures of a few degrees. With increasing magnetic field the conductance exhibits a plateau at e^2/h, consistent with recent experiments.