A geometric approach to the Landauer-Büttiker formula (Q2879374)

The paper considers an ideal Fermi gas confined to a geometric struture consisting of a central region, the sample, connected to several infinitely extended ends, the reservoirs. The initial state of this complex system of sample and reservoirs is that of a joint thermal equilibrium state of the whole coupled system (partition-free scenario in comparison to partitioned scenarios where the initial state is given by separate initial states of non-interacting reservoirs). Whether such an open quantum system, prepared by the initial state, relaxes indeed to a nonequilibrium steady state, is yet intensively discussed.NEWLINENEWLINEThe main result of the present work are a mathematical proposition and a theorem which guarantee the existence and uniqueness of a nonequilibrium steady state. The work describes Ruelle's scattering method for the construction of nonequilibrium steady states. It thoroughly discusses commutators of Hilbert space operators and their use in spectral analysis. It introduces elements of the Mourre theory necessary for controlling the singular spectrum and the propagation properties of quasi-free fermionic systems. Finally it constructs a nonequilibrium steady state using the geometric theory of multichannel scattering. Thus, under physically reasonable assumptions on the propagation properties of the one-particle dynamics within the assumed reservoirs, it is shown that the state of the Fermi gas relaxes to a steady state. The values of various current variables in the steady state are computed, and the results are expressed in terms of scattering data. In doing so, a geometric version of the well-known Landauer-Büttiker formula is obtained, which relates steady currents through a sample connected to several fermionic reservoirs at different chemical potentials to the scattering data associated with the coupling of the sample to the reservoirs. (abstract with additions)