Positive Cross Correlations in a Normal-Conducting Fermionic Beam Splitter

S. Oberholzer, E. Bieri, C. Schönenberger, M. Giovannini, and J. Faist

Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 046804 – Published 2 February 2006

Abstract

We investigate a beam-splitter experiment implemented in a normal-conducting fermionic electron gas in the quantum Hall regime. The cross correlations between the current fluctuations in the two exit leads of the three terminal device are found to be negative, zero, or even positive, depending on the scattering mechanism within the device. Reversal of the cross correlation sign occurs due to interaction between different edge states and does not reflect the statistics of the fermionic particles which “antibunch.”