Single-Particle Excitations Generated by Voltage Pulses

Abstract: We analyze properties of excitations due to voltage pulses applied to a 1D noninteracting electron gas, assuming that the integral of the voltage over time is equal to the unit of flux. We show that the average charge transfer due to such pulses does not depend on the pulse shape. For pulses with a Lorentzian profile, we prove the single-particle nature of the electron and the hole excitations.