Perturbation of tunneling processes by mechanical degrees of freedom in mesoscopic junctions.

We investigate the perturbation in the tunneling current caused by nonadiabatic mechanical motion in a mesoscopic tunnel junction. A theory introduced by Caroli et al.1–3 is used to evaluate second order self-energy corrections for this non-equilibrium situation lacking translational invariance. Inelastic signatures of the mechanical degrees of freedom are found in the current-voltage I(V ) characteristics. These give rise to sharp features in the derivative spectrum, d2I/dV 2. PACS numbers: 73.40.Gk 72.10.Di 85.30.Mn 85.42.+m Typeset using REVTEX 1