Current bistability and hysteresis in strongly correlated quantum wires

Nonequilibrium transport properties are determined exactly for an adiabatic ally contacted single-channel quantum wire containing one impurity. Employi ng the Luttinger Liquid model with interaction parameter g, for very strong interactions g less than or similar to 0.2, and sufficiently low temperatu res, we find an S-shaped current-voltage relation. The unstable branch with negative differential conductance fives rise to current oscillations and h ysteretic effects. These nonperturbative and nonlinear features appear only out of equilibrium.