Frequency-dependent magnetotransport and particle dynamics in magnetic modulation systems

We analyze the dynamics of a charged particle moving in the presence of spatially-modulated magnetic fields. From Poincare surfaces of section and Liapunov exponents for characteristic trajectories we find that the fraction of pinned and runaway quasiperiodic orbits {\em vs}. chaotic orbits depends strongly on the ratio of cyclotron radius to the structure parameters, as well as on the amplitude of the modulated field. We present a complete characterization of the dynamical behavior of such structures, and investigate the contribution to the magnetoconductivity from all different orbits using a classical Kubo formula. Although the DC conductivity of the system depends strongly on the pinned and runaway trajectories, the frequency response reflects the topology of all different orbits, and even their unusual temporal behavior.Comment: Submitted to PRB - 14 figure files - REVTEX tex

Guiding center picture of magnetoresistance oscillations in rectangular superlattices

We calculate the magneto-resistivities of a two-dimensional electron gas subjected to a lateral superlattice (LSL) of rectangular symmetry within the guiding-center picture, which approximates the classical electron motion as a rapid cyclotron motion around a slowly drifting guiding center. We explicitly evaluate the velocity auto-correlation function along the trajectories of the guiding centers, which are equipotentials of a magnetic-field dependent effective LSL potential. The existence of closed equipotentials may lead to a suppression of the commensurability oscillations, if the mean free path and the LSL modulation potential are large enough. We present numerical and analytical results for this suppression, which allow, in contrast to previous quantum arguments, a classical explanation of similar suppression effects observed experimentally on square-symmetric LSL. Furthermore, for rectangular LSLs of lower symmetry they lead us to predict a strongly anisotropic resistance tensor, with high- and low-resistance directions which can be interchanged by tuning the externally applied magnetic field.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Effects of the field modulation on the Hofstadter's spectrum

We study the effect of spatially modulated magnetic fields on the energy spectrum of a two-dimensional (2D) Bloch electron. Taking into account four kinds of modulated fields and using the method of direct diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix, we calculate energy spectra with varying system parameters (i.e., the kind of the modulation, the relative strength of the modulated field to the uniform background field, and the period of the modulation) to elucidate that the energy band structure sensitively depends on such parameters: Inclusion of spatially modulated fields into a uniform field leads occurrence of gap opening, gap closing, band crossing, and band broadening, resulting distinctive energy band structure from the Hofstadter's spectrum. We also discuss the effect of the field modulation on the symmetries appeared in the Hofstadter's spectrum in detail.Comment: 7 pages (in two-column), 10 figures (including 2 tables