Entropy Measurement of a Strongly Coupled Quantum Dot

Phys Rev Lett. 2022 Nov 23;129(22):227702. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.227702.

Abstract

The spin 1/2 entropy of electrons trapped in a quantum dot has previously been measured with great accuracy, but the protocol used for that measurement is valid only within a restrictive set of conditions. Here, we demonstrate a novel entropy measurement protocol that is universal for arbitrary mesoscopic circuits and apply this new approach to measure the entropy of a quantum dot hybridized with a reservoir. The experimental results match closely to numerical renormalization group (NRG) calculations for small and intermediate coupling. For the largest couplings investigated in this Letter, NRG calculations predict a suppression of spin entropy at the charge transition due to the formation of a Kondo singlet, but that suppression is not observed in the experiment.

MeSH terms

  • Cytoskeleton
  • Electrons
  • Entropy
  • Quantum Dots*