Charge fluctuation induced dephasing in a gated mesoscopic interferometer

The reduction of the amplitude of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a ballistic one-channel mesoscopic interferometer due to charge fluctuations is investigated. In the arrangement considered the interferometer has four terminals and is coupled to macroscopic metallic side-gates. The Aharonov-Bohm oscillation amplitude is calculated as a function of temperature and the strength of coupling between the ring and the side-gates. The resulting dephasing rate is linear in temperature in agreement with recent experiments. Our derivation emphasizes the relationship between dephasing, ac-transport and charge fluctuations