Energy and phase relaxation in non-equilibrium diffusive nano-wires with two-level systems

In recent experiments the non-equilibrium distribution function $f(E,U)$ in diffusive Cu and Au quantum wires at a transport voltage $U$ shows scaling behavior, $f(E,U)=f(E/eU)$, indicating a non-Fermi liquid interaction with {\it non-vanishing} T=0 scattering rate. The two-channel Kondo (2CK) effect, possibly produced by degenerate two-level systems, is known to exhibit such behavior. Generalizing the auxiliary boson method to non-equilibrium, we calculate $f(E,U)$ in the presence of 2CK impurities. We show that the 2CK equations reproduce the scaling form $f(E/eU)$. For all measured samples the theoretical, scaled distribution functions coincide quantitatively with the experimental results, the impurity concentration being the only adjustable parameter. This provides a microscopic explanation for the experiments and, considering that no other mechanism producing the scaling form is known to date, lends strong evidence for the presence of degenerate two-level defects in these systems. The relevance of these results for the problem of dephasing in mesoscopic wires is discussed.

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