Flux-dependent shot noise through an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with an embedded quantum dot

Shot noise through a closed Aharonov-Bohm interferometer carrying a quantum dot in one of its two current paths is investigated. It is found that the shot noise can be modulated by the magnetic flux Φ, the dot level, and the direct tunneling. Due to the interference between the two transmission channels, the Kondo correlation manifests itself in the flux dependence of the shot noise, which exhibits oscillation behavior with a period of Φ₀∕2 (Φ₀ is the flux quantum) for small voltages below the Kondo temperature T_K. At voltages well above T_K or outside the Kondo regime, the shot noise is determined by high-energy Coulomb and hybridization processes, and its Aharonov-Bohm oscillations restore the fundamental period of Φ₀. As a result of its two-particle nature, the shot noise contains higher-order harmonics absent in the current, demonstrating the fact that the noise is more sensitive to the effects of quantum interference than the current.