Anti-Resonance and the 0.7 Anomaly in Conductance through a Quantum Point Contact

Abstract

We investigate the transmission of electrons through a quantum point contact by using a quasi-one-dimensional model with a local bound state below the band bottom. While the complete transmission in lower channels gives rise to plateaus of conductance at multiples of $2e^{2}/h$, the electrons in the lowest channel are scattered by the local bound state when it is singly occupied. This scattering produces a wide zero-transmittance (anti-resonance) for a singlet formed by tunneling and local electrons, and has no effect on triplets, leading to an exact $0.75(2e^{2}/h)$ shoulder prior to the first $2e^{2}/h$ plateau. Formation of a Kondo singlet from electrons in the Fermi sea screens the local moment and reduces the effects of anti-resonance, complementing the shoulder from 0.75 to 1 at low temperatures.