Abstract
We use random matrix models and a Fermi-liquid approach to investigate the ground state energy of electrons confined to a nanoparticle. Our expression for the energy includes the charging effect, the single-particle energies, and the residual screened interactions treated in Hartree-Fock. This model is applicable to chaotic quantum dots or nanoparticles—in these systems the single-particle statistics follows random matrix theory at energy scales less than the Thouless energy. We find the distribution of Coulomb blockade peak spacings first for a large dot in which the residual interactions can be taken constant: the spacing fluctuations are of order the mean level separation Corrections to this limit are studied using the small parameter both the residual interactions and the effect of the changing confinement on the single-particle levels produce fluctuations of order The distributions we find are qualitatively similar to the experimental results. Thus, models beyond Fermi-liquid theory are not needed to describe this quantity.
- Received 5 March 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.64.245324
©2001 American Physical Society