Scaling and Decoherence in the Nonequilibrium Kondo Model

We study the Kondo effect in quantum dots in an out-of-equilibrium state due to an applied dc-voltage bias. Using the method of infinitesimal unitary transformations ("flow equations"), we develop a perturbative scaling picture that naturally contains both equilibrium coherence and nonequilibrium decoherence effects. This framework allows one to study the competition between Kondo effect and current-induced decoherence, and it establishes a large regime dominated by single-channel Kondo physics for asymmetrically coupled quantum dots.