Phase Relaxation Time in Open Chaotic Billiards

Phase relaxation time τ φ due to Coulomb interactions is studied semiclassically for electrons in open chaotic billiards with two leads of width W . When W is much larger than the Fermi wavelength λ F , the phase relaxation time at temperature T is shown to be τ φ -1 = c (λ F / W ) T , where c is a numerical constant of the order of unity. The behavior τ φ ∝ T -1 , similar to that in two-dimensional diffusive systems, is in agreement with the experimental results.