Asymmetric current--voltage (I(V)) curves, known as the diode or rectification effect, in one--dimensional electronic conductors can have their origin from scattering off a single asymmetric impurity in the system. We investigate this effect in the framework of the Tomonaga--Luttinger model for electrons with spin. We show that electron interactions strongly enhance the diode effect and lead to a pronounced current rectification even if the impurity potential is weak. For strongly interacting electrons and not too small voltages, the rectification current, Ir=[I(V)+I(−V)]/2, measuring the asymmetry in the current--voltage curve, has a power--law dependence on the voltage with a negative exponent, Ir∼V−∣z∣, leading to a bump in the current--voltage curve.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0506095,
title = {Rectification in one--dimensional electronic systems},
author = {Bernd Braunecker and D. E. Feldman and J. B. Marston},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0506095},
year = {2009}
}