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Evidence for Atomic-Scale Vibron-Mediated Electron Bunching

A. Maiti1, M. Amato1, V. S. Stolyarov2, H. Aubin3, J. Estève1, F. Pistolesi4, M. Aprili1, and F. Massee1,*

  • *Contact author: freek.massee@universite-paris-saclay.fr

Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 236501 – Published 10 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/zvf5-wln4

Abstract

Due to the Coulomb blockade effect, electrons typically tunnel into a localized state one by one, showing antibunching behavior. However, theory predicts that strong vibronic coupling can generate electron bunching locally, yet direct atomic-scale evidence has remained elusive. In this Letter, we report an atomically resolved shot-noise study probing the transport statistics of single-electron tunneling in an atomic impurity coupled to a vibrational mode. Conventional time-averaged conductance spectroscopy reveals clear signatures of vibron-assisted tunneling in this atomically sized nanoelectromechanical system. Simultaneous shot-noise measurements at the impurity center show super-Poissonian noise, providing direct evidence that vibronic coupling drives electron bunching during tunneling. As a future outlook, if coherence between electrons can be implemented, vibron-mediated electron bunching at single atomic sites may be exploited as a local injection source of N-paired electrons.

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

synopsis

Vibrations Make Electrons Team Up

Published 10 June, 2026

Atomic-scale measurements show that vibrational excitations can cause electrons to move in bunches.

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