title: Measurement of the full distribution of persistent current in normal-metal rings.
abstract: We have measured the persistent current in individual normal metal rings over a wide range of magnetic fields. From this data, we extract the first six cumulants of the single-ring persistent current distribution. Our results are consistent with the prediction that this distribution should be nearly Gaussian for diffusive metallic rings. This measurement highlights the sensitivity of persistent current to the mesoscopic fluctuations within a single isolated coherent volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Castellanos-Beltran
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: D Q
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Ngo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Shanks
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Jayich
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA and Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: J G E
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Harris