Universal persistent currents in mesoscopic metal rings due to long-range Coulomb interactions

Abstract

We calculate the average persistent current in a mesoscopic metal ring threaded by a magnetic flux in the diffusive regime. It is shown that the classical electromagnetic energy leads to a {\it{universal}} average current of the order of $\alpha ec/C_0$, where $\alpha$ is the fine structure constant, $-e$ is the charge of the electron, $c$ is the velocity of light, and $C_0$ is the classical capacitance of the ring. Striking similarities between persistent currents and universal conductance fluctuations are discovered. We suggest a simple experiment to test our theory.

11 pages, Revtex 3.0, 2 Figures, will be mailed on request

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