SIGNATURES OF ELECTRON CORRELATIONS IN THE TRANSPORT-PROPERTIES OF QUANTUM DOTS

The transition matrix elements between the correlated N and N+1 electr on states of a quantum dot are calculated by numerical diagonalization . They are the central ingredient for the linear and nonlinear transpo rt properties, which we compute using a rate equation. The experimenta lly observed variations in the heights of the linear conductance peaks can be explained. The knowledge of the matrix elements as well as the stationary populations of the states allows us to assign the features observed in the nonlinear transport spectroscopy to certain transitio ns and contains valuable information about the correlated electron sta tes.