An electron jet pump: The Venturi effect of a Fermi liquid

A three-terminal device based upon a two-dimensional electron system is investigated in the regime of nonequilibrium transport. Excited electrons scatter with the cold Fermi sea and transfer energy and momentum to other electrons. A geometry analogous to a water jet pump is used to create a jet pump for electrons. Because of its phenomenological similarity we name the observed behavior the electronic Venturi effect. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi :10.1063/1.3577959]