210 research outputs found
Floating of Extended States and Localization Transition in a Weak Magnetic Field
We report results of a numerical study of non-interacting electrons moving in
a random potential in two dimensions in the presence of a weak perpendicular
magnetic field. We study the topological properties of the electronic
eigenstates within a tight binding model. We find that in the weak magnetic
field or strong randomness limit, extended states float up in energy. Further,
the localization length is found to diverge at the insulator phase boundary
with the same exponent as that of the isolated lowest Landau band (high
magnetic field limit).Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 3 figures available upon reques
Possible Metal/Insulator Transition at B=0 in Two Dimensions
We have studied the zero magnetic field resistivity of unique high- mobility
two-dimensional electron system in silicon. At very low electron density (but
higher than some sample-dependent critical value,
cm), CONVENTIONAL WEAK LOCALIZATION IS OVERPOWERED BY A SHARP DROP OF
RESISTIVITY BY AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE with decreasing temperature below 1--2 K.
No further evidence for electron localization is seen down to at least 20 mK.
For , the sample is insulating. The resistivity is empirically
found to SCALE WITH TEMPERATURE BOTH BELOW AND ABOVE WITH A SINGLE
PARAMETER which approaches zero at suggesting a metal/ insulator
phase transition.Comment: 10 pages; REVTeX v3.0; 3 POSTSCRIPT figures available upon request;
to be published in PRB, Rapid Commu
Short--range impurity in the vicinity of a saddle point and the levitation of the 2D delocalized states in a magnetic field
The effect of a short--range impurity on the transmission through a
saddle--point potential for an electron, moving in a strong magnetic field, is
studied. It is demonstrated that for a random position of an impurity and
random sign of its potential the impurity--induced mixing of the Landau levels
diminishes {\em on average} the transmission coefficient. This results in an
upward shift (levitation) of the energy position of the delocalized state in a
smooth potential. The magnitude of the shift is estimated. It increases with
decreasing magnetic field as .Comment: LaTeX, 20 page
A consideration of the challenges involved in supervising international masters students
This paper explores the challenges facing supervisors of international postgraduate students at the dissertation stage of the masters programme. The central problems of time pressure, language difficulties, a lack of critical analysis and a prevalence of personal problems among international students are discussed. This paper makes recommendations for the improvement of language and critical thinking skills, and questions the future policy of language requirements at HE for international Masters students
Language and anxiety: an ethnographic study of international postgraduate students
This paper presents some findings from an ethnographic study of international postgraduate students at a university in the South of England, which involved interviews and participant observation over a twelve-month academic year. One of the major themes that emerged from this research was students’ anxiety over their level of English language. Although all students entered their course with a minimum level of IELTS 6, the majority felt disadvantaged by particularly poor spoken English, and suffered feelings of anxiety, shame and inferiority. Low self-confidence meant that they felt ill-equipped to engage in class discussion and in social interaction which used English as the medium of communication. A common reaction to stress caused by language problems was to retreat into monoethnic communication with students from the same country, further inhibiting progress in language. Whilst some linguistic progress was made by nearly all students during the academic sojourn, the anxiety suffered by students in the initial stage must not be underestimated, and appropriate support systems must be put in place to alleviate their distress
Quantum Hall - insulator transitions in lattice models with strong disorder
We report results of numerical studies of the integer quantum Hall effect in
a tight binding model on a two-dimensional square lattice with non-interacting
electrons, in the presence of a random potential as well as a uniform magnetic
field applied perpendicular to the lattice. We consider field magnitudes such
that the area per flux quantum is commensurate with the lattice structure.
Topological properties of the single electron wave functions are used to
identify current carrying states that are responsible for the quantized Hall
conductance. We study the interplay between the magnetic field and the
disorder, and find a universal pattern with which the current carrying states
are destroyed by increasing disorder strength, and the system driven into an
insulating state. We also discuss how to interpolate results of lattice models
to the continuum limit. The relationship to previous theoretical and
experimental studies of quantum Hall-insulator transitions in strongly
disordered systems at low magnetic fields is discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure
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